Mirror, Mirror Part I
by Phantom Rosabelle
Summary: What will it take for Andros to learn to love? Andros/Ashley. Warning: child abuse.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I was going to make Follow the Stars longer, but I was starting to feel depressed because it wasn't a very happy story. So I'm writing this one instead. It's even more depressing, but it's more happy too. And no, you haven't been very nice to Ashley. (But you could always bring Andros back from the dead) _: )

_**Jenny:** No, Ashley isn't going to die, (at least, not yet). I can't kill her without having Andros lose the will to live and kill himself out of sadness, and that would be a really depressing story to write.I was going to focus on Twist of Fate for awhile, but then I got the idea for this one, so I decided to write it before I forget. I've had the basic storyline for Twist of Fate in my head since I was about nine, so I shouldn't be forgetting it anytime soon. _

_A/N: I'm having writer's block with Twist of Fate, so I'll just work on this one for awhile. There's no point in trying to force myself to write. It doesn't work that way._

Chapter 1

Andros sat sullenly in his room, refusing to leave. Under any other conditions, he would have loved the fact that three of the other rangers had gone to the movies. That meant that he could be alone for once. The problem was, the one who had stayed behind was Ashley.

She was the most annoying person he had ever met. She wouldn't leave him alone, always wanting to know what he thought about this or that, and always trying to talk to him about the little things only she could care about.

"Andros, report to the bridge," Deca said suddenly, her voice taking on an urgent tone. "I am detecting a strange signal."

Andros groaned, not wanting to have to work with Ashley, but Deca didn't get alarmed easily. He forced himself to remain calm, and walked at a normal speed, not wanting to appear overly concerned in front of the yellow ranger.

As he'd expected, Ashley was already there, bent over the control console, studying Deca's readings. Something about her seemed ridiculous, and Andros fought down the urge to laugh. He doubted that she even knew what half the words meant.

"What is it, Deca?" Andros asked, taking the center seat. He didn't want to sit next to her, but he refused to move.

"I am detecting a new object in the system," Deca said.

"Like what?" Ashley said, sitting back in her chair, giving up on whatever she had been studying. "An asteroid?"

Andros rolled his eyes.

"Astroids don't just appear," he said condescendingly. "I thought you'd have learned at least that by now?"

Ashley ignored his tone.

"Then what does just appear?" she said. "Deca?"

"Shall I approach it?" the AI asked.

"Is it advisable?" Andros asked, just as Ashley opened her mouth. He had a feeling that she had about to say yes.

"I detect no signs of danger," Deca said.

"Shouldn't we call the others?" Ashley asked. "This could be important."

"I can take care of myself," Andros said. "I thought you could too."

"They might want to see whatever it is," Ashley pointed out.

"It'll still be there later," Andros said irritably. "Deca, approach."

"Affirmative," Deca replied, and the Megaship's engines roared slightly.

Ashley sat back in her seat, glaring at Andros. Why did he always have to be so cold? All she wanted to do was be his friend. She could see how lonely he was. He hadn't opened up at any of them, but he accepted TJ, Carlos, and Cassie. Everyone except her, and he made it clear that he was only tolerating her. Why?

"It's a space mirror," Andros said, recognizing the image Deca displayed on the screen.

"A what?" Ashley asked.

"A space mirror," Andros repeated. "They're very rare."

"What are they?" Ashley repeated patiently. She was going to get a straight answer out of him if it took her all night.

"Space mirrors are doorways into other dimensions," Andros said, speaking slowly so she wouldn't ask again.

"What kind of dimensions?"

Andros sighed. "It depends on the mirror. Alternate realities, the past, or the future."

"Can you tell what kind of a mirror it is?" Ashley asked.

Andros shook his head. "Not until you get to the other side."

He saw her open her mouth, and quickly added, "Which we are not going to do. The mirror isn't always there on the other side, and we might never find another one."

"Approaching Velocifighters," Deca announced.

"Fire the Megalasers," Andros responded automatically, taking the controls.

"The Megalasers have been shot down," Deca announced several minutes into the battle.

Andros swore loudly.

"Go through the mirror," Ashley urged. "Do it!"

"Didn't you hear me say how dangerous it was?" Andros snapped, frantically trying to load the backup weapong systems.

"It's that or stay here and die," Ashley snapped back, elbowing him out of the way and taking the controls. Andros tried to shove her back into her own seat, but she'd already steered the Megaship straight for the center of the mirror.

The Megaship didn't pass through the mirror as much as the mirror passed through the Megaship, sweeping up Andros and Ashley. They vanished in twin streaks of red and yellow light, landing hard elsewhere.

"I hope you're happy." Andros was glaring daggers at Ashley as he picked himself up. "We might never get back."

"But we're alive," Ashley replied carelessly, standing up as well. "All we have to do is find out where we are."

She looked around and recognized her surrounding immediately. "We're in Angel Grove Park."

"I know it's Angel Grove Park," Andros snapped. "I'm more concerned with what year it is."

"It's about six at night," Ashley offered. "Don't know what year yet."

"Mommy!" a small voice called, and Ashley turned to see a little girl about four years old wandering around, heading their way. "Mommy!"

"What's your name, sweetie?" Ashley asked, kneeling down so that she was at eye level with the girl. "Where's your mommy?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she was daring Andros to make a fuss about her wasting time, but he didn't. No one should lose their child. His mother had never recovered . . .

"Mommy, your face looks different," the little girl said, peering up at Ashley.

"I'm not your mommy, sweetie," Ashley said. "But my friend and I will be glad to help you find her."

She gestured toward Andros, who was turned around, looking the other way. Something in the little girl's face had been disturbingly familiar.

"There's Mommy!" the girl cried, waving frantically. "Mommy!"

"Don't scare me like that," her mother scolded, scooping her daughter up in her arms. "You promised you wouldn't get out of my sight."

"But I thought I saw you, Mommy," she protested. "But it wasn't you."

The mother turned to look where her daughter was pointing, and she and Ashley both gaped in surprise. Ashley recovered her voice first.

"Um, Andros?" she said. "I think we're in the future."

_A/N: If anyone has a name for that little girl, please tell me. I can't think of any names right now. Anyway, hope you liked it. (And I know that you're all going to guess who her mother is, and if you guess wrong, then I'm going to be sad. ) _


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **I was reading your review, and you said that Aingeal sounded kinda like Angel, so I just named the little girl Angel. Thanks. As for her mother . . . well, read down about five lines. _

_**Jenny:** Yes, this is AU, but there will be a few recognizable events. Not for awhile, though. I promise, I'll be nice to the little girl. I didn't name her something weird. I kinda like weird names, though. _

_**Juzblue:** Andros isn't going to be happy in this dimension. He finds out a lot of stuff that he doesn't like. Ha ha. _

Chapter 2

"Um, Andros?" Ashley said. "I think we're in the future."

"How can you tell?" Andros snapped, still looking the other way for anything that might tell him where or when he was.

"Turn around."

Ashley's voice was odd, not her usual cheerful tone, and he sighed. This might actually be important. He turned around slowly, making it clear how annoyed he was with her.

"What?" he demanded.

"Oh," he said in surprise, following Ashley's gaze.

She was watching another, older version of herself.

Another Ashley.

"I think we're in the future, Ashley," Andros said, as if she hadn't just said it.

"So glad we agree on something," Ashley said sarcastically under her breath. To her other self, she said, "I know that this seems impossible, but we went through a space mirror and landed in the future."

"Talk to yourself later," Andros snapped. "I'm going to find a way out of here."

The other Ashley glanced down at her daughter. "Honey, go find Daddy, okay? Tell him to call me, and to take you home."

The little girl scampered off, and both Ashley's watched her go, her mother in anxious worry, and the younger Ashley in curiosity. If they were simply in the future, and not in a completely different dimension, then someday, this little girl would be hers. More importantly, who was her father? This other Ashley barely looked twenty. Who could she have fallen in love with in that short a time?

Ashley looked closely at her future self, wondering how hard the next few years would be. The other Ashley had a thin scar running straight across her left cheek, from her ear to her chin. _When do I get that?_ Ashley wondered, resisting the urge to touch her own cheek. On the third finger of her left hand, she was wearing a wedding ring, so Ashley supposed that it couldn't be too bad.

A cell phone rang, and the other Ashley jumped in relief.

"Hello," she said immediately. "Yeah, I did . . . I'm talking to a younger version of myself who came through a space mirror . . . "

"No, _don't_ come," she said emphatically. "Trust me on this, okay?"

A pause. Ashley guessed that her husband must be asking why she didn't want him to come. "There's someone with her."

She paused again, and lowered her voice, muttering something that Ashley couldn't hear.

"Meet me there. Take Angel for ice cream really quick. Just let me get there first, okay?" she said, raising her voice again. "This will be easier to sort out when we're all together."

She paused, and listened for a moment. "They're not here to kill me . . . I just know. . . I can take care of myself. You can't still doubt that . . . I love you too. Bye."

The other Ashley hesitated after she hung up her phone. "Would you like to come to my house? You can rest there, and figure out how to get back."

Ashley nodded gratefully, and grabbed Andros by the arm. Despite his threat to leave her, he had only wandered a few feet away.

"Come on," she said decisively. "We're going."

Andros glared at her, but went along, not about to admit that he didn't have a better idea.

"What should I call you?" Ashley asked. "I mean, you're me, but not really . . . "

"Call me Ash," she said. "Unless you'd rather be called that."

"No, I'm Ashley," she said, glancing sideways at Andros.

"Andros doesn't use anyone's nickname," she added truthfully. Carlos didn't have one, but he'd never called Cassie 'Cass' or TJ 'Teej.' And of course, he'd never call her 'Ash.'

Ash nodded, looking between the two of them, and Andros got the distinct impression that she was trying hard not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" he snapped at her. "I'm stuck with two of you? Is that it?"

Ash shook her head. "You'll see, but you probably won't laugh."

Ash lived only a few blocks away, in a house that Ashley had always dreamed of buying. It was a small mansion. The exterior walls were red bricks, and there was a small tower off to the side.

"You live here?" Ashley squealed excitedly.

Ash nodded, smiling, as she unlocked the door. "When I told my husband that I'd always dreamed of living here, he promised me that if it ever went on sale, we'd buy it."

"Aw, that's so sweet," Ashley said. "Who's your husband?"

"You'll see," Ash grinned mischievously. She led them into the living room, and motioned for them to sit on the couch. Ashley did, and after a moment, Andros joined her, sitting as far away from her as possible. Ash watched them, still smiling secretivly to herself.

"What's your daughter's name?" Ashley asked. "She's so beautiful."

"Angelica," Ash said. "Angel."

The door opened again, and Ash jumped up.

"Wait here," she said, running out of the room to intercept her husband before he got to the living room.

Ashley and Andros waited, and after awhile, they saw Angel run past them. She disappeared up the stairs, probably going to her room. Ashley smiled, knowing that her room was the one with the tower.

After several minutes, Ash reappeared, leading her husband by the hand.

"Um, this is probably a bit of a surprise, but-"

Ashley glanced up and her mouth dropped open in shock for the second time that day. Andros said nothing, and stared down at his hands. He was was too stunned to do anything else. This was not possible.

The four people in the room all shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do now.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 3

Ashley and Andros stared in shock at Ash and her husband.

Another Andros.

"When - how did you-"

Ashley made a few attempts at speaking, but nothing coherent came out.

"No," Andros said, standing up and storming past them. "This is not possible."

His other self stopped him. "I'll explain it to you."

"Fine," Andros agreed sullenly. He really had no choice. It wasn't his house, and he had nowhere else to go. "But-"

"Sit," the other Andros said firmly.

Andros sat down again, still sitting as far away from Ashley as he could. This is not my future, he told himself. This is only an alternate reality. It is the future in an alternate reality. This is not my future. I will not love Ashley.

"Well, I think we all know each other," Ash said brightly.

Andros groaned, and the other Andros laughed softly.

"Remind you of anyone, Ash?"

Ash shook her head, not knowing how to respond. The Andros she knew was the same as the younger one sitting across from her in so many ways, yet he was a completely different person.

"So, are you two friends?" Ash asked carefully.

Ashley didn't reply, but Andros shook his head firmly.

The older Andros watched Ashley, seeing the hurt hidden in her eyes at Andros' quick answer. He wished he hadn't been so stubborn. Ash never mentioned it, but he knew that he'd hurt her.

"Hey," he said, offering Ashley his hand. She hesitated, then shook it quickly.

He glanced at his younger self.

"Okay, one of us has got to be Dros, or this will get more confusing that it already is. Which one do you want to be?"

"I haven't been called Dros in years," Andros said, doing his best to make it appear that Dros was only a childhood nickname that he had long since outgrown. He knew that Dros would see right through it, but he wasn't about to explain Karone and Zhane to Ashley.

"When did you two fall in love?" Ashley asked, finding her voice again.

Ash and Dros glanced at each other.

"If we told you, it would change things," Ash said finally.

"So you're not going to tell us anything?"

"No," Dros said flatly. "Nothing more than you need to know."

"How much do we need to know?" Ashley asked.

"Nothing," Dros said. "At least not about how we got together."

"How old are you?" Ashley was trying to figure out how old Ash had been when she'd given birth to her daughter.

"Twenty-three," Ash said.

"Is there anything that you can tell us about the future?" Ashley asked. "Anything that we should do differently?"

Dros hesitated. They had both made normal, human mistakes, but once they'd fallen in love, it didn't seem to matter, but there was one thing that he'd give anything to change . . . and couldn't, not without losing everything that he'd come to love, but if he could just warn them, let them brace themselves . . . Ash knew what he was thinking, and shook her head emphatically.

_"No,"_ she said firmly, her voice reverberating through his mind. _"No, no, no, you can't."_

_"Ash-"_ Dros began, and then stopped, knowing in his heart that she was right.

Ash looked away, and Dros saw her lower lip trembling.

"Come here," he said softly. Tears started streaming down her cheeks, and she buried her face in his shoulder. Dros wrapped his arms protectively around her, holding her close as she cried.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear, kissing the top of her head gently. "You're right. Knowing changes too much."

_"You were worth it all,"_ Ash said. _"I'm afraid to find out how we'd have ended up if it had never happened. We can't ruin it for them just because we think it would save them some pain."_

"You're right, Ash," Dros told her softly. "Are you going to be all right?"

Ash's shoulders shook, but she took a deep breath and pulled away, and dried her tears. "I'll be all right," she muttered.

"Do you want to be alone for awhile?" Dros asked softly, wiping a few stray tears gently off her face.

Ash nodded. "Just for a few minutes," she whispered, her throat tightening again.

Dros watched her walk away. Ash was always present in his mind, and now he was feeling her pain. He'd do anything to take it all away from her, but he couldn't.

He sighed, and turned back to Andros and Ashley, hoping that they wouldn't ask him what had just happened. Andros had been staring at his hands the entire time, and Ashley had made a point of looking away, not wanting to see her other self being comforted by Dros. Something about them just seemed right.

"So . . . you want some dinner?" Dros tried. He wasn't the least bit hungry, and he had a feeling that they weren't either, but it would give him something to do. He didn't want to talk right now to anyone but Ash. His eyes flickered in the direction that she had gone.

"Go," Ashley said softly, and he looked at her in surprise. She shrugged.

"She's me," she said. "I guess I can feel her a little, but not as much as you can."

"How-"

"The way you look at her," Ashley said, not looking at him.

He nodded, wondering how he could have ever been so stupid as to think that he hated Ash. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll be right back, but if you're hungry, you can try to cook something."

Andros watched Dros leave the room, looking for his wife. He didn't want to see himself being happy with Ashley. Of course, he wasn't Dros, and Ashley wasn't Ash, but it made little difference. He'd seen how much Dros hurt when Ash was hurting. If he was ever that aware of Ashley's emotions, he thought he'd kill himself to escape it.

"Want something to eat?" Ashley offered. She wasn't hungry, but it was better than sitting in silence thinking about Dros and Ash.

To her surprise, Andros looked up. "Can you cook?"

Ashley shrugged. "Wanna find out?"

Andros shook his head. "If it isn't poison, I'll eat it."

"What qualifies as poison?"

"If you cook something, I'll eat it, if you don't I'll wait," he said. "I'm not really hungry right now."

"Me either," Ashley said. "Want to watch TV?"

Apparently, Ashley was feeling as awkward as he was.

"I want to be alone," Andros said, much more harshly than he'd intended. He felt a

twinge of guilt at Ashley's stung look, but he didn't care. The last hour had been messing with his head.

Luckily, Dros and Ash returned then. Ash's eyes were red and slightly puffy, but other than that, she looked okay. Dros kept one arm wrapped around her waist, as if afraid that someone would take him from her.

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked.

"I'm fine," Ash assured her. "It's a long story . . . "

"One that happens to me?" Ashley asked softly.

Ash hesitated, and nodded. "To both of you. If our worlds are the same."

"What do we do now?" Ashley asked.

"Tomorrow, we'll see if we can find a mirror back into your own time," Dros said. "Technology's improved. We can see where you'd end up."

The little girl ran downstairs in her bright yellow pajamas. "Mommy, tell me a bedtime story."

"Okay," Ash agreed, scooping her daughter up in her arms.

"Can Daddy come too?" she asked.

Ash nodded, and looked at Andros and Ashley. "Do you mind?"

Ashley shook her head, and after a moment, Andros shook his once.

Ash and Dros went upstairs with their daughter, leaving Andros and Ashley sitting once again in awkward silence.

"Well, at least we'll get home," Ashley said, trying to fill the silence. "The others won't even have noticed that we're missing."

"That depends," Andros said, taking her seriously. "Time between dimensions is different. We could end up in our time a day after we left, or we could have not missed any time."

"Oh," Ashley said. "Well, then maybe they really won't have noticed that we were gone."

Andros didn't reply, and Ashley could tell that he was getting annoyed by her attempts to talk to him. She gave up, and they passed nearly an hour in stony silence, waiting for their older counterparts to return.

The sky outside had darkened completely by the time Ash and Dros returned, and neither Andros or Ashley had moved to turn on a light. They were nearly invisible in the darkness.

"Sorry we took so long," Dros said. "It takes her awhile to fall asleep sometimes."

"It's all right," Andros muttered.

"Are you guys tired?" Ash asked. "You can borrow some pajamas if you want. We only have one extra room, but if you don't want to share, one of you can sleep out here . . . "

"I'll share if you will," Ashley said reluctantly. She didn't want to be without someone from her world, even if that someone was Andros.

"Fine," Andros muttered, and Ashley glanced at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to feel the same way.

"All right, then," Ash said, disappearing into her and Dros' bedroom. "I'll get you guys something to sleep in."

"I don't wear pajamas," Andros said stubbornly, and Dros stifled a laugh.

"I remember that," he said to Andros. "It seems so long ago . . . "

"Here you go," Ash said, tossing a pair of pajama pants and a loose yellow T-shirt to Ashley. "You can change in the bathroom, and shower, if you want."

"Thanks," Ashley said, grateful to get away from them all. By the time she emerged, her wet hair plastered to her head, Ash had disappeared, but Dros was still in the living room talking with Andros. It was weird to see him talk so much, Ashley realized.

"The extra bedroom's just down the hall," Dros said, pointing.

"Thanks," Ashley said. She was relieved to see that there were two beds. Taking the one farthrest from the door, she lay down, not the least bit tired. Soon after, she heard Andros come in. He went straight to bed, only stopping to take off his boots.

"Good night," Ashley said, not the least bit surprised when he didn't answer.

Dros stood outside their door for a moment, wishing that he could help them somehow. He sighed, and went to his room. There might be nothing that he could do for them, but there was something that he should have done a long time ago.

He climbed into bed just as Ash emerged from their bathroom. The scent of her shampoo filled his nose when she lay down next to him, resting her head on his lap.

"Ash?" he said softly, gently stroking her damp hair.

She craned her neck to look at him.

"Did I ever apologize for how I treated you those first few months?" he said.

Ash shook her head. "It's okay," she said.

"No, it's not okay," Dros said, carefully tucking a few stray wisps of hair behind her ear. His fingertips lovingly traced her scar, and for a moment, he remembered all that they had gone through together. "I was awful to you."

Ash caught his hand as he lifted it from her face. "It was six years ago. For the last five and a half years, I haven't even thought about that."

Dros leaned over and kissed the side of her head. "Ash, I love you."

Ash shifted slightly so that her head was on the pillow, and Dros lay down next to her.

"I love you too," Ash whispered.

She rolled over onto her left side, facing away from him. Dros pulled her close, his arms encircling her completely. He couldn't sleep without her in his arms, and she couldn't sleep without him holding her. Dros pulled the blankets up to her chin, and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Ashley couldn't sleep. She could hear Andros tossing and turning, and she was tempted to do the same.

"Andros?" she said softly.

"Am I keeping you awake?" he said, not bothering to lower his voice. His voice was neither contrite or happy, just curious.

"I can't sleep," Ashley said. "This is just too weird."

"Then you've seen nothing of the universe," Andros informed her. As always, it seemed like he was talking down to her. When she didn't reply, he rolled over, and found that he could sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **Yes, you will find out what happened to Ash, but not for awhile. _

_**Maiken:** I always update soon. : P_

_**Jenny:**I promise, I will update soon. And this Andros is going to be more Andros-like than in my other stories, at least for awhile._

_**GreenDayfan1:** Like it already? It'll get much more interesting in the next few chapters. _

_**LucyE:** I'm using the name Alana later in this story, but I can't tell you where, so just keep reading. : P_

_**Rytanya:** I try not to leave you in suspense, but sometimes, I just can't resist. I won't do it for awhile in this one, since I have the next few chapters already written._

Chapter 4

Ashley opened her eyes, wondering where she was. This wasn't the Megaship, this wasn't her house . . . No, it was her house. Sort of. She sat up, remembering everything that had happened the day before. The space mirror . . . Ash . . . Dros. . .

She glanced over at the other bed. Andros was still asleep. Ashley watched him for awhile, entranced by the expression on his face. He seemed so calm, so peaceful, and so vulnerable. He'd never looked that way when he was awake. He was always so cold, and his eyes were so hard.

She sighed. Ash and Dros had ended up together, and everything that she had seen so far told her that they were in the future. That meant that someday she and Andros . . .

Andros woke up suddenly, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched. His surroundings were unfamiliar, but then he saw Ashley, and everything came back.

"Morning," Ashley said. "Sleep well?"

"I slept," Andros said. "That's what counts."

"Could you leave while I get dressed?" Ashley asked, sounding almost shy. "Or do you want me to?"

"I want you to leave," Andros said.

"Fine."

Ashley snatched up the clothes that she had worn the day before and left quickly. Andros waited a moment before getting up. He pulled on his boots, and stood up, more than ready to leave.

**A few hours later**

Andros stood anxiously as Dros checked the readings on the Megaship. If he was stuck here, he was going to _kill_ Ashley.

"There is a mirror back into your time," Dros announced. "Deca, set coordinates."

He turned to Andros. "When you get there, you and Ashley will be transported back to the exact second that you left."

"So we still have to deal with the Velocifighters?" Andros asked. "Your escape plan didn't work so well," he added, glaring at Ashley.

Dros shook his head. "The scanners detect nothing on the other side of the mirror."

"So they just decided to chase us for fun?" Ashley asked skeptically.

Dros shrugged. "If you'd rather stay here . . . "

"They might think you're serious," Ash said, coming up behind them. "But as much as we'd like to get to know you, you belong in your own time, in your own dimension."

"Well, bye," Ashley said awkwardly. "This has been . . . interesting. We win in the end, right?"

"Can't tell you," Ash said, amused.

"But never give up," Dros said.

Dros and Ash teleported off the Megaship. It was too big to pass through the mirror, so only Andros and Ashley would be transported. Andros didn't breathe as they approached the mirror. Dros had assured them that they'd end up in their own dimension, but if he was wrong . . .

Ashley landed hard on the Megaship. She felt Andros next to her. He wasn't moving, but she could hear him breathing.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, touching his shoulder gently.

"I'm fine," he snapped. "Leave me alone!"

He stood up and stalked away. Ashley stared after him. After seeing how much Dros loved Ash, it hurt even more to know that Andros hated her.

Andros locked himself in his room, not about to leave it again, no matter what emergencies there were. Nothing that would involve spending any more time with Ashley. He knew that she was going to try to talk to him, and that was the last thing that he wanted. He was never going to talk about this with anyone, Ashley least of all people.

"Are the others back, Deca?" he asked. He knew without a doubt that Ashley was going to tell them everything. He needed to get to a better hiding place.

"They have just returned."

"Is Ashley talking to them?"

"She is," Deca replied.

"Has she told them anything about the space mirror?" Andros asked, lying on his back on his bunk.

"Negative," Deca said.

"When she's alone, ask her if she's going to," Andros said.

"She is not," Deca said several minutes later.

Andros breathed a sigh of relief.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**GreenDayfan1:**Does Andros really hate Ashley? I can't tell you yet or it would ruin my story, but just look at how happy Ash and Dros were. : P_

_**Juzblue:** Don't worry, you'll find out what happened, but not until later._

_**Jenny:** Damn, you're good at guessing. :pouts: I mean . . . no that's not what happens at all. : P anyway, moving on . . . yeah, Andros isn't being very nice right now. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I was thinking about having them stay longer, but I decided to just use it as an intro. :pause to make face at jenny:_

Chapter 5

"We need to talk," were the first words that Andros heard the next morning. And, surprise, surprise, they were coming from Ashley's mouth.

Andros said nothing, deliberately ignoring her. He stared down at his food, hoping that she would give up and go away.

"Andros," Ashley tried again. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

"Then you'll be here for awhile," Andros said evenly, staring straight ahead and not at her.

"Andros!" Ashley snapped. "Shut up."

"Then how can we talk?" He knew he was being a jerk, but he didn't care right now.

Ashley looked like she was about to cry with frustration, and Andros gave in. He didn't really care if she cried, but everyone else on the team loved Ashley. They would care.

"Fine, talk," he said reluctantly.

"Hey, what are you guys doing up so early?" Cassie asked sleepily.

"Not tired," Andros and Ashley said together. Ashley felt her face grow warm, and Andros stared at the floor.

Cassie shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Andros took the opportunity to stand up and storm out. Ashley followed him.

"Andros!"

He stopped and groaned. "What?"

"We still need to talk," Ashley said, grabbing his arm so that he couldn't run away again.

"Why?" Andros demanded. "What's there to talk about? That was a different dimension. You don't love me. I don't love you. I could never love you. In fact, I hate you."

Ashley looked like she'd just been slapped, and Andros tried not to feel guilty. He hadn't meant to say the last two sentences, and if he had, he hadn't meant to say it so cruelly. It had just slipped out, and now that he'd said it, he regretted it, and he wasn't so sure that it was true, but he couldn't take it back, and he wouldn't apologize.

Ashley gave him a wounded look and fled.

Andros did his best not to notice that he knew exactly how much he had just hurt her. _I'm only feeling guilty,_ he told himself, sitting down on the floor and leaning back against the wall. _I'm not feeling what she's feeling. I'm only feeling guilty. . . What did I just do?_

She had to get off of the Megaship. It was a good place to hide, but it was Andros' ship. She needed to go somewhere that was hers.

"Deca, teleport me to my room at home," Ashley said, managing to keep back her tears.

As soon as she'd landed in her own bedroom, she threw herself onto her bed, and buried her face in her pillow, sobbing her heart out. She'd always known that Andros didn't like her, but she'd never though that he'd be so heartless to tell her so.

Ever since the beginning, something had drawn her to the stubborn, brooding red ranger, just as something had made him hate her. She'd never thrown herself at him, but she'd tried to get him to talk a few times, but every time she walked into a room, he'd found a reason to leave. It wasn't fair, she could feel how much hurt he was always carrying around with him, but he wouldn't let her get close enough to help him.

"Ash?"

She looked up as he brother's concerned face appeared in her doorway. Jeff came in, and knelt down by her bed, looking her in the eye.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, and Ashley started sobbing again. When she could speak again, she told him everything. Jeff stared at her when she'd finished, not able to absorb it all.

"So in another dimension, you and Andros are married?"

Ashley nodded, and tears started pouring again. "He told me that he hated me."

Jeff wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. "Do you think he meant it?"

"How could he not?" Ashley said. "He's never been mean to me before. He just ignored me. I don't think he says anything he doesn't mean."

"Maybe he didn't mean to say it," Jeff said. He didn't believe it, but he hated seeing his sister so heartbroken.

"Then why would he?" Ashley's eyes were still wet, but now she looked angry instead of sad. "You don't tell someone you hate them as a joke."

Jeff sighed. "I don't know, but you should talk to Andros. You know you won't feel better until you do. And tell him that if he hurts you again, I don't care if he's a ranger, I will kill him."

Ashley laughed a little. "You're not supposed to know," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Jeff said. "I forgot."

"How did you figure it out, anyway?" Ashley asked, trying to keep her mind off of Andros.

Jeff thought about it for a moment. "Those things that looked like watches never told time, you always disappeared whenever the rangers were around, and you and your friends always dressed in the same colors."

"It was that obvious?" Ashley asked, a little shocked. "How come no one else has figured it out?"

Jeff shrugged. "I'm sure it's because if you put all of them together, they'd only be half as smart as I am."

Ashley giggled. "Thanks, Jeff. I needed that."

Jeff stuck his tongue out at her. "Feel better?"

"A little," Ashley admitted. "Thanks."

"No problem, sis," Jeff said. "At least I'm good for something."

He paused. "You want to go see a movie or something? It'll get your mind off of everything."

Ashley nodded. "Sure."

Jeff grinned. "But I'm choosing the movie."

"You are not," Ashley protested. "I hate the movies you see. I want to pick the movie."

"I'm not going to see a chick flick," Jeff said, looking insulted. "Do I look like a girl to you?"

Ashley grinned at him.

"Don't answer that," Jeff said hastily. "Come on."

"Fine, you can pick the movie," Ashley said, snatching up his keys from the table where he had left them. "But I'm driviing."

"Aw, no fair," Jeff said, pouting. "Yeah, okay."

Ashley slipped behind the wheel of his car feeling much better. Five minutes later, the feeling vanished.

They were stopped at a red light. The light switched to green, and Ashley started moving again.

"Look ou!" Jeff shouted.

Ashley didn't have time for his words to register in her mind. The car was slammed from the side, and Ashley's mind froze. Her seatbelt caught her, but the other car had hit them from Jeff's side. When Ashley glanced over at her brother, he wasn't moving.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Jenny:** If you think that's a cliffhanger, you won't like the rest of the story very much. :grins innocently: Not that I intentionally keep you waiting, of course. But don't worry, this chapter is very straightforward. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **I only kill the bad guys. You can scream if you want, I can't hear you. : P _

**_Juzblue:_ **_Nope, haven't seen Raise Your Voice_

Chapter 6

Andros couldn't sleep. His earlier words to Ashley kept ringing in his head. _I hate you . . . I hate you . . . I hate you . . ._ He couldn't make it stop, and he kept seeing the crushed look on her face when he'd said them. And what was worse, he hadn't even meant what he'd said. Sure, Ashley was annoying most of the time, but he didn't hate her.

"Deca, where's Ashley?" he asked. He was never going to fall asleep until he apologized to her, and as much as he hated the thought, he'd had enough sleepless nights already.

"Ashley is on the bridge," Deca said, and Andros sighed, standing up.

He walked slowly to the bridge, wondering what he was supposed to say. He'd never apologized for anything in his life. At least, he'd never apologized for anything sincerely.

Ashley was on the bridge, in her seat, curled up. At first, Andros thought that she'd fallen asleep, but then he saw that she was crying quietly.

"Ashley?" he said softly. "What are you doing?"

Ashley's eyes opened when he spoke to her, and she stood up. "I'll get out of your way," she muttered.

"No," Andros said quickly. "Stay here. I . . . I wanted to -Are you okay?"

Ashley started crying again. "You wouldn't care."

"I would," Andros insisted. Ashley was always so cheerful that it felt wrong to see her like this, so sad and devastated.

"I almost killed my brother today," Ashley sobbed. "If you really want to know."

"What happened?" Andros asked, in a much gentler voice than Ashley thought he was capable of.

"We were in the car," Ashley said. She was making no effort to dry her eyes, and her face was dripping with tears. "Another car ran into us, and - and Jeff -"

She choked, and it was several minutes before she could speak again. "Jeff got a concussion and a broken leg," she said. "But if he'd been hit an angle just a little different, he'd have died."

"Were you hurt?" Andros asked.

"No!" Ashley said. "I wasn't hurt at all, and I should have been. It's not fair. Why should he get hurt because of me?"

"But what did you do?" Andros said.

"I was the one driving," Ashley said. "That makes it my fault!"

The guilt was evident on her face, and Andros wasn't sure what to do next. He couldn't just walk away and leave her like this. Finally, he awkwardly pulled her into a hug. Ashley stiffened, and he let go immediately.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Ashley wailed. "You said that you hated me, and now you're being nice to me."

"I'm sorry I said that," Andros said, unable to look at her. "I didn't mean it, and I didn't mean to say it."

"Then why did you?" Ashley said him. He thought she was going to start crying again. "Do you know how much that hurt?"

Andros nodded guiltily. "I'm sorry," he muttered again. "I'm sorry about your brother, too," he added, thinking of Karone.

Ashley started sobbing again, and Andros hugged her again. It just felt so wrong to see Ashley sad. This time, she let him hold her, and buried her face in his shoulder. When she stopped crying, she stood there, still leaning against him, and after awhile, Andros realized that she'd fallen asleep standing up.

Andros was uncomfortably aware that he was holding a sleeping woman in his arms, who even he couldn't deny was beautiful. Finally, he slipped one arm around her upper back, and another under her knees, and carried her to her room, careful not to wake her. He laid her gently on her bed, and tried to take off her boots without disturbing her. She woke up slightly as he pulled the blanket up over her.

"Andros?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Go to sleep, Ashley," Andros said quietly. Ashley closed her eyes again.

He looked at her sleeping form one last time before leaving.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** That was pretty much the idea behind it, to make Andros be nice to Ashley. I was going to have something happen to Andros, but then I remembered that Ashley was still mad at him. So that happens later. _

_**Jenny:** I'm glad you liked that line. _: )

_**GreenDayfan1:** Andros never really hated Ashley, and he didn't mean to tell her that he did. He always liked her, deep down, but he was too afraid to admit it to himself. Whoa, that's deep . . . _

_**Juzblue:** I couldn't kill Jeff. That would be mean. _: )_ Now, onto all the horrible things that I do to the rest of them . . . _

Chapter 7

"Can I talk to you?"

Andros looked up from his breakfast, and sighed. Ashley had said almost the exact same words to him yesterday morning, and he remembered guiltily how that had ended.

"Fine," he agreed.

"In the hall?" Ashley asked softly, nodding to the other rangers, who were doing their best to not stare at them outright.

Andros shrugged and followed her into the hall, staring at the floor. He didn't want to look her in the eye, afraid of what he might see.

"What do you want?" he muttered, focusing on the ground.

"I . . . " Ashley shifted uncomfortably, unable to look at him either, "I just wanted to say . . . that last night . . . you . . . I . . . "

She trailed off.

"Oh," Andros said, unsure of how to respond, or if he should say anything at all. "I, um . . . How are you?"

"I feel better today," Ashley said. "But thanks . . . You were really sweet last night."

Andros didn't say anything.

"Andros?" Ashley asked softly. Something in her voice made him look up at her. "You can be so nice when you want to be. Why won't you let us be your friends?"

Andros stiffened, and he gazed blankly at her for several seconds. It took Ashley awhile to realize that he wasn't seeing her. He was seeing something else, something that had happened long ago.

"I can't have friends," Andros said in an oddly robotic tone, as if he were reapeating something he'd said over and over . . . or been told.

"Andros?" Ashley asked, growing alarmed at the coldness of his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Andros stared at her, and for an instant, Ashley thought he looked scared.

"I'm fine," he snapped a moment later, turning around and heading down the hall.

"Don't follow me!" he added as an afterthought.

Ashley stared at him, wondering what had happened that had made him so cold.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **This chapter's longer, and I just realized that both of the stories that I'm writing right now are going to be very long, so don't worry, there's plenty more. How come **you** get to control the zords? That's more not fair than me writing a short chapter. _: )

_**GreenDayfan1:** Andros doesn't love Ashley yet, he just doesn't hate her. They'll fall in love later. _: )

_**Juzblue:** Don't worry, this chapter's longer. _ : )

_**Jenny: **Are my stories really predictable, or are you just good at guessing? _: )

Chapter 8

**The bridge**

"Deca, set a course for . . . " Cassie's voice trailed off, and she glanced at Andros. "Andros?"

Andros sighed, and rotated in his seat to look at her. "What?"

"Aren't you supposed to do this part?" the pink ranger asked.

"You can do it," Andros said, not really listening. "It's not that hard. I'm sure that you can handle it, and if you can't, Deca can."

Cassie rolled her eyes at him, and shrugged, ignoring the insult.

"That's not what I meant," she said. "You haven't noticed that TJ and Carlos have been taking over your job for the past two weeks."

That was because Andros spent the major portion of the next two weeks concentrating only on avoiding Ashley as best he could. Now that he'd admitted that he didn't hate her, he was realizing that she didn't annoy him as much as he'd thought she did. And that bothered him, because he knew that once she stopped annoying him, he would start to care for her. He couldn't care for anyone, especially Ashley, because it would hurt too much to lose her. And Andros had lost everyone that had ever mattered to him, even those who hadn't died . . .

"There's an incoming transmission," Carlos said, glancing up at the scanners. "Do you want me to play it?"

"Where's it from?" Andros asked.

"It's from another ship," Carlos said, puzzled.

"But that can't be right," TJ said. "There's only two ships in this system, and Astronema doesn't like to chat."

"Where's it from?" Andros asked again, impatiently. "Deca?"

"The Vengence," Deca replied. If she had a mouth, she would have been frowning.

"The Vengence?" Andros repeated, dumbstruck. "No . . . "

"Shall I display the transmission?" Deca asked him.

"No," Andros said quickly. "At least, not yet."

The others were staring at him, and he groaned.

"Can you leave for awhile?" he asked, almost pleadingly. "Please?"

They all nodded, but before they could leave, the screen burst into life.

"Deca!" Andros cried angrily.

"Override," Deca said apologetically.

"Andros!"

He forced himself not to flinch.

"Hello, Mother," he said, barely managing to keep his tone even.

"Your father and I are coming to visit you."

"When?" Andros said, suppressing a sigh.

"We're right outside," his mother informed him. "Why have you been orbiting such a primitive planet? Who are those people with you?"

"I'll explain later," Andros said, sighing. This was going to be even more unpleasant than usual.

His mother's eyes narrowed. "What have you been keeping from me?"

"Deca, begin docking manuevers," Andros muttered reluctantly. "I'll be expecting you, Mother."

The instant the screen went black, Andros let his head fall forward into his hands. His mother only showed up whenever she was feeling particularly depressed about Karone, and to make herself feel better, she would scream at Andros for hours, drilling into his mind that it was all his fault. His mother had always loved Karone more, and after she was kidnapped, she'd made it clear that he was going to suffer dearly for letting his little sister get lost.

"Andros?" Ashley asked. "Are you okay?"

Andros lifted his head, and glared at her. She met his gaze, and held it until he looked away.

"All of you, go away!" he snapped. "I need to talk to my parents. Alone!"

"Sure," Ashley said softly. "We'll go."

Before they could, however, the doors slid open, and he stiffened, seeing his mother's spiteful face and his father's disappointed one. Both his parents entered slowly. The others stood, but Andros simply stayed where he was, his head bowed.

"Mother," he said, struggling to keep his voice even. "Father."

"Stand up!" his mother ordered in a clear, cold voice. "Who are these people?"

Andros didn't answer.

"Who are they?"

Andros stayed quiet, trying to think of an answer that she would accept. There were none.

"They're rangers," he muttered.

"I didn't hear you," his mother snapped. She took a step closer, and Andros flinched involuntarily.

"They're rangers, Mother," he said, a little louder. "From Earth."

"You gave the Astromorphers to four humans from Earth?" his mother repeated in a dangerously calm voice.

Andros nodded, staring at the floor.

"What's wrong with you?" she shrieked at him. "The Astromorphers were intended to be used only by Karovans."

She turned to face TJ, Ashley, Cassie, and Carlos, who were standing in a corner uncomfortably.

"We would like to be alone with our son," she snapped at them. "Leave!"

They left, and Andros watched, wishing that they wouldn't go.

"Have you found Karone yet?" his father wanted to know.

"No," Andros said, concentrating hard on the floor.

"You are worthless," his father spat. "You cost us our little girl."

"I was only six," Andros pleaded. "There was nothing that I could do."

**The engine room**

"Do the rest of you feel as bad as I do?" Ashley asked, looking around at her friends.

"Yeah," Cassie agreed. "We shouldn't have left."

"He told us to," TJ protested.

"That's only because he didn't want us there while he got screamed at," Ashley said softly.

TJ sighed. "That's a good point."

"What do we do now?" Carlos asked Ashley. "Do we just wait for them to leave?"

Ashley shook her head. "I don't know, but we can't just do nothing."

"Why do you feel so bad?" Carlos asked. "Andros is awful to you."

Ashley shrugged. "He's not as bad anymore," she said. "But the look on his face when they came in would have made me feel sorry for him even if I'd hated him."

**The bridge**

Andros resisted the urge to press his hands to his head in an effort to block out the voices that continued raging at him.

"Stop," he said. "Leave me alone!"

"Not until you accept responsibility for what you've done," his father said somberly.

His father took a step closer to him, and Andros flinched, the ghosts of long-healed wounds aching again. It had been years since anyone had even tried to hit him, but he couldn't forget.

"I'm sorry I lost Karone," Andros cried out finally. "I've always been!"

"Only because we made you sorry," his father said. "But this isn't even about Karone."

"Then why are you here?" Andros demanded. "I haven't seen you in a year and a half. What do you want?"

"This is about your other mistake," his mother said coldly.

Andros froze. "Arrow?" he asked.

"He's been attacking your people while you're orbiting Earth, doing nothing," his father shouted. "I thought that you could sink no lower."

"It's all your fault he's even alive!" his mother raged. "If you hadn't gotten in the way, he'd be dead and gone, and Karova would be safe."

Andros said nothing. On this point, he knew that his mother was right.

"Wait," his mother said slowly. "How many Earth-rangers are there?"

"Four," Andros said, stiffening.

"You gave away Karone's morpher?"

"Karone's not here to use it," Andros muttered, concentrating on not breaking down into tears while she was still here.

"Because of you!" she screamed at him. "You don't deserve to live. You should have been the one that was taken. Karone would have been a ranger, and you'd be dead, where you belong. It's all your fault, all of it. You couldn't save KO-35, you couldn't save your best friend, and you couldn't even keep your little sister in sight!"

She started over from the beginning, raging at him for a variety of things. Andros stopped listening, the tears that he had been holding back giving way to anger.

_She's your mother,_ Andros told himself, clenching his teeth. _She's your mother, no matter how much she hates you, don't kill her, don't kill her, don't kill her. . . _He wished he could scream at her for once, telling her everything that she had ever done to him.

"Listen to me!" his mother snarled. "Listen to me, you-"

"Enough!"

Andros watched his mother's mouth drop open at being interrupted in mid-sentence. Slowly, he looked up to see Ashley standing in the doorway, her normally warm brown eyes ice cold. Standing behind her, with equally cold expressions, were TJ, Carlos, and Cassie.

"Leave me alone with my son," his mother ordered.

"No," Ashley said quietly. "We will not."

"Why are you defending him? You'll only end up dying to save his worthless life."

"He's only worthless to you," Ashley said sharply. "Leave him alone."

"You gave your sister's morpher to her?" his mother demanded, glaring at Andros with a burning hate that came from her soul. "Why? How could you do that?"

"Deca, teleport Andros' parents back to their ship," Ashley ordered.

"Shall I detach the Vengence?" Deca asked, as they vanished from the bridge.

"Immediately," Ashley said. "And accept no more transmissions from them."

Andros hadn't moved. He was still sitting stiffly in his seat, staring at the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ashley kneel by his side.

"Andros?" she said quietly. "Andros, look at me."

Andros shook his head. "Go away," he whispered, his throat tightening.

"Not until you look at me," Ashley said firmly.

Andros shook his head, knowing that if he looked into her warm eyes, he would start crying. It wasn't right. She'd defended him and he'd always been so awful to her.

He stood up abruptly, and left, not knowing where he was going, but he couldn't stay there. He heard someone following him, and knew immediately that it was Ashley. He ended up in his room, and Ashley stopped in the doorway.

"Please leave me alone," he managed to choke out it a toneless voice.

"I will," Ashley said gently. "If that's what you want. Are you going to be okay?"

Andros automatically nodded his head, but at the warmth in her voice, he couldn't hold back his tears any longer. It had been so long since anyone had cared for him.

Sinking down onto his bed, he curled up into the fetal position, sobbing. He felt Ashley lie down next to him, and he buried his face in her shoulder, clinging to her desperately.

"It's okay," Ashley whispered soothingly. "They're gone now."

"Go away," Andros whispered. "Far away. Before he kills you. All of you."

"Andros?" Ashley asked questioningly.

"It's all my fault," Andros muttered faintly. "I did this."

"Andros," Ashley said. "What happened?"

Andros sat up, stiffening when Ashley touched his shoulder gently.

He looked up at Ashley. "You don't have to be here with me."

"I want to be," Ashley said, surprised at how much she really did. "Andros, you can tell me anything."

"You wouldn't understand this," Andros muttered, looking away again.

Still, Ashley didn't go away, and Andros swallowed hard. He couldn't keep it inside anymore. He took a deep breath and started talking.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**dancer1:** I'm glad you like it, hope that you read the rest of it. _

_**GreenDayfan1:** Yeah, Andros is stubborn, but that's just kind of a shell that he put up to protect himself. Underneath, he's sweet. _

_**Elfsong:** No, Arrow is someone that I made up. And I always update soon. _: )

_**Juzblue:** No, his parents aren't very nice. _

_**Janice:** Yup, this is the side of himself that Andros doesn't let anyone see. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I already knew that. It was supposed to be a three part episode, but then they had to cut it all down. Maybe if you send angry letters to Saban/Disney, they'll release it. I want to see them kiss. _: ( _I hate his parents too. Can I have one of the zords? Never mind, I want Alpha._

_**Jenny:** Okay, probably a lot of people could have figured it out, but since you're the only one that did, we'll just say that you're a really good guesser. And I promise, I will never write a story where Andros and Ashley don't end up together. And if I do, please send me lots of angry reviews until I change my mind. And yeah, that's pretty much what's going to happen. _: )

Chapter 9

"I have a twin sister," Andros began haltingly. "Her name is Karone. We were outside playing. The ball flew away, and I went to go get it. I heard her start screaming."

He paused and swallowed hard. He didn't want to start crying again, especially not in front of Ashley. He'd already let her get to close. Sighing, Andros lay down, staring at the bottom of the top bunk.

"I never saw her again."

It was several minutes more before he could speak again.

"My parents . . . you saw them," Andros said bitterly. "Karone was their darling little angel, and I was just their other child. I was supposed to protect Karone, keep her safe, so she could make them proud. But I couldn't hate her because they loved her. She was so sweet and innocent, and I was the one who lost her."

"Do you really believe that?" Ashley asked softly. "That it's your fault?"

"Yes," Andros answered instantly. "It was my fault. I lost her. And I have to find her."

Ashley didn't reply, remembering how his parents had acted towards him earlier. Without being told, she knew that they had been the same way every day of his life. Slowly, she was beginning to see that the Andros that they knew was only a mask, designed to protect the person inside.

"The Karovan rangers were all chosen as children," Andros continued after a long pause. "I was the red ranger. I was supposed to be the leader. Karone was supposed to be the yellow ranger."

"Oh," Ashley said, shifting uncomfortably.

"After Karone . . . the others refused to take the morphers," Andros said. "They didn't want to risk their lives."

"Did you protect KO-35 alone?" Ashley asked.

Andros shook his head.

"No. There was Zhane. He was like my brother. We morphed for the first time when we were thirteen. Zhane was the silver ranger. He almost died when Dark Specter invaded. He's in cryogenic sleep. He might never wake up."

Ashley nodded, knowing that he couldn't see her in the dark, listening to him speak in short, broken sentences. Cautiosly, Ashley reached out and took his hand. Her heart ached for him, and she wished that there was something that she could do to take his pain away. She was becoming very aware that she felt a brief flash of every emotion that he was feeling, and she wished that he wouldn't push her away anymore.

Andros tensed at her touch, and Ashley dropped his hand quickly.

"He almost died because of me."

"Andros," Ashley said quietly. "You aren't responsible for everything that happens."

"Everyone else thinks so," Andros muttered.

"They think so?" Ashley repeated. "Or you think they do?"

Andros was silent for a long time.

"When I was fourteen, Zhane and I stopped Arrow," Andros said. "He was human."

"Who is he?" Ashley asked, prompting him when he stalled.

Andros sighed.

"He . . . he was a ranger."

"An evil one?" Ashley asked.

"Yes," Andros muttered. "He had an army. He tried to take over."

"What happened?"

"We destroyed his army and captured him," Andros said. "The Karovans were going to try him, but he escaped."

He stopped. Ashley waited patiently, not wanting to pressure him. Andros hesitated. His father had been the one standing guard when it had all happened, and he'd chosen to say that Arrow had had a hidden weapon that he'd used to escape. Andros had kept quiet out of shame.

"Andros?" Ashley asked softly. "Are you all right?"

Andros swallowed and shook his head.

"I can't," he whispered, sitting up. "I never told anyone."

He could feel Ashley looking at him, and he closed his eyes, even though he couldn't see her. He'd never even told Zhane, although he suspected that his friend had figured out what had happened.

"Hey," Ashley said, touching his shoulder gently. "It's okay. You don't have to."

"I have to stop him," Andros said, standing up, his mind starting to work again. "I can't let him get away again."

"Do you really think you're going alone?" Ashley asked, and Andros could tell that she was smiling at him.

"No," he admitted. "You guys won't let me go alone, will you?"

"Of course not," Ashley said. "We're your friends."

Suddenly, Andros reached out, pulling her into a fierce hug.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Ashley didn't reply, but she wrapped her arms around his neck, and held him close.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Andros asked quietly.

"It's not like me to be mean," Ashley replied.

"Ashley?" Andros asked, his arms still around her. "Could you not tell the others? Please?"

"I won't if you don't want me to," Ashley said. "But they'd understand."

"I don't want them to know yet," Andros said.

"Okay," Ashley agreed. "I won't tell them."

"Thank you," Andros whispered.

"Come on," Ashley said. "Let's go find this dark ranger."

Andros let her go reluctantly, not at all eager to revisit past mistakes.

_A/N: You'll have to wait awhile for the next chapter. I'm busy next week, and also I have no idea what happens next. I have the ending written, but not the middle. But it's not a cliffhanger, so you can't get too mad. But you will. _: )


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Jenny:** I forgot all about DECA. I want DECA. You can have Alpha. See how generous I am? _: ) _Yes, you are a good guesser. :nods head convincingly: Happy birthday, I put up this chapter just for you. _: )

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yes, Andros is starting to open up. What did Andros have to do with Arrow's escape? You'll see, but I don't know yet either. (It'll probably be in this chapter, but I felt like writing the responses first.)_

_**sye04:** Sorry it took me so long, but here's more. _: ) _Keep reading!_

_**Juzblue:** Yeah, you'll be seeing Arrow soon. And then again. And again. And again. Until I feel like killing him off._

_**Janice:** I'm glad that you like it. Keep reading it. _: )

_**GreenDayfan1:** It should be very interesting. I'm making this up as I go along, so I don't know quite what's going to happen, except for one thing that I can't tell you._

Chapter 10

**The Megaship**

"Deca, set a course for the rebel base in system R13," Andros ordered dully. He wasn't at all looking forward to seeing his people again.

"Course set," Deca announced. "Do you wish to wait for the others?"

"They're not here?" Andros asked, surprised. "I just saw them."

"TJ and Carlos are at the Surf Spot," Deca informed him. "Cassie has just joined them, and Ashley is currently at her home."

"She's probably saying good-bye to her brother," Andros said. "I told her that we'd probably be gone for awhile."

He sighed, trying not to think about Ashley. Something about her was intoxicating, and as much as he tried to tell himself to stay away from her, he was drawn to her, and after what had happened earlier, he knew that he would never be able to push her away.

"Deca, is the Vengence still in the Sol system?" Andros asked suddenly, hoping that his parents were long gone.

"It is." Deca sounded severely displeased. "It is currently hovering at the edge of the system. Do you wish to send a message?"

"No!" Andros said vehemently.

He sighed. It was just like his parents, lurking in the background, waiting for him to make a mistake, and when he did, they would pounce on the opportunity. Andros clenched his teeth, and pressed his palms into his eyes. He was not going to cry again, and not over them. He didn't like to think about how satisfied they would be if they knew that he had broken down and cried.

"Deca?" Andros said. "Contact the others and tell them to hurry up."

**Angel Grove**

"So where are you going, exactly?" Jeff asked. He'd been released from the hospital, and was sitting in his bed at home, his leg propped up on pillows.

"I'm not sure," Ashley said. "Andros only said that we'd be gone for a couple of days, maybe a week."

"You're lucky it's summer vacation," Jeff remarked lightly.

He'd been about to say something else, but had thought better of it. Whatever was between his sister and Andros should be worked out on their own, and as much as he wanted to protect his sister, he knew that she could take care of herself.

"I know," Ashley said. "Tell Mom and Dad that I'm spending a few days at Cassie's, okay?"

"All right," Jeff agreed. "You know, someday, they'll think to check up on you while you're there. What do you do then?"

"Oh," Ashley said thoughtfully. "Then I'm at Carlos'."

"You thought all this through," Jeff said, feigning admiration. "I'm impressed."

"You know how Mom and Dad are," Ashley said. "If they knew that I was a ranger, they'd worry about me."

"So you think I don't worry?"

Ashley smiled at her brother. "I know that you do, but they'd worry more."

"I know," Jeff said.

Her communicator beeped, and Ashley answered.

"What?"

"Andros wishes for you to hurry," Deca's voice informed her.

"Tell him I'm coming," Ashley sighed.

"Was that the computer or the robot?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Deca's the AI," Ashley said.

She hugged her brother good-bye. "I'll see you in a few days."

"Bye, Ash," Jeff said. "Bring me a mutant space rock or something."

Ashley laughed. "I'll remember that."

**The Megaship**

Andros looked up anxiously as Ashley teleported onto the bridge.

"What took you so long?" he demanded.

"It was thirty seconds," Ashley protested. "I was saying good-bye to my brother."

"Oh," Andros said. "It doesn't matter. You're the first one here."

Ashley took her seat next to him, and waited. Several minutes passed in silence, and Ashley became very aware that Andros was staring at her whenever he thought that she wasn't looking.

"So what's Arrow like?" Ashley asked, turning to face him. "How does he fight?"

"He fights like us," Andros answered. "At least physically. But he has a mind, too, and he uses it. That's what I hate about fighting humans. They're not brainless creatures."

"Does he have any strange powers?" Ashley asked. "Just so I know beforehand."

"No," Andros said. "But if he ever talks to you, don't listen to anything that he says. He can get inside your head, and once he's in there, he owns you. Don't let him do that."

It took Ashley a moment to realize that he wasn't warning her casually.

"What did he do to you?"

Andros was staring directly in front of him, and at Ashley's question, he lowered his head until he was staring at his hands.

"Zhane and I caught him," he muttered quietly. "He was locked up in a cell, and there was no way that he could have escaped. My father was the one standing guard over him. There were others outside, but he was the only one in the room."

"You let him go, didn't you?" Ashley asked softly.

Andros glanced at Ashley out of the corner of his eye. She was watching him closely, but her face was understanding.

He nodded.

"It was the stupidest trick I ever fell for," he muttered. "But I thought that he knew . . ."

His voice trailed off as Ashley reached out and took his hand gently. Andros made no motion, but he didn't stiffen as he had before.

"This time you'll win," Ashley told him. "We'll help you."

Andros nodded, unconvinced.

"Hey, we're here," Carlos announced.

"Yeah, sorry we're late," TJ added. "But we wanted one last hamburger before we left."

"It's not like we'll be gone forever," Ashley said from her seat.

"Yeah, but we were hungry," Cassie said.

Her eyes settled on her best friend, who was still gripping Andros' hand, and she gave her a questioning glance. Andros dropped her hand, realizing that TJ and Carlos were giving him similar looks.

"Deca, we can go now," he said, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Ashley sighed and settled back in her seat, wondering what they were up against.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **I thought that scene was sweet, but maybe a little predictable, but I liked it, or else I wouldn't have written it. So if other people don't like it, that's not my problem. _: )_ Glad you liked it._

_**GreenDayfan1:** What do you think happens next? You guessed right the other time. _

_**Jenny: **It's not like psychic getting into your head. It's like messing with your head. You'll see later. And you might not thank him after you see what happens in the next dozen chapters. (This is going to be a** long **story.)_

_**Juzblue: **You'll see Arrow soon._

_**Maresia Eterna:** I'll always write more fics, as long as I have the idea for them. You'll have to wait awhile to see how Ashley gets the scar, but while you're waiting for that, you can see Andros fall completely in love with her._

Chapter 11

**The Megaship**

"Entering system," Deca announced several hours later.

Andros was in his room, lying on his bed, staring at the bottom of the bunk above him. Deca's words took a long time to register, and as they did, he sighed heavily. He had no doubts that they would capture Arrow; after all, he and Zhane had managed, and that was just the two of them. Now they had five.

He just didn't want to be here, seeing his people, or what was left of them, existing in some underground colony on a barren desert planet. It was just another reminder of how he had failed them, and no matter what anyone told him, he would not see it any other way.

"Andros, you are wanted on the bridge," Deca said. "The others have been waiting patiently for ten minutes."

"Tell them I'm coming," Andros sighed, and sat up.

Slowly, he stood up and pulled on his jacket. He walked out of the room, wanting more than anything for this to all be over with.

Andros entered the bridge just as TJ tightened the straps on Cassie's oxygen mask.

"Done," TJ said. "Now all we have to do is wait for . . . oh, there you are, Andros."

Carlos handed him an environmental suit.

"Put it on."

Andros glared at it, but he really had no choice. The climate was too harsh to go down in anything else other than their ranger suits, but the bright colors would stand out too much, and Andros knew that Arrow would be watching for them.

He stepped into the suit, zipping it up almost to his chin. Ashley held out an oxygen mask, and he took it silently, slipping it over his face and pulling the hood of his suit over his head. The others did the same.

"Deca, teleport five to the surface," Andros ordered.

**The planet surface**

"Where do we go now?" Ashley shouted, her voice muffled by the mask, and nearly drowned out by the dust storm that raged around them.

"This way," Andros called back, motioning with his hand, trying to keep the others in sight.

Ashley squinted, trying to see where Andros was going, then followed him, reaching out behind her to grab TJ's arm. Except for Andros, they were all walking hand-in-hand, not wanting to lose each other.

"Slow down," Cassie yelled from behind TJ. "We can't see you."

"Andros!" Ashley shouted. "Where are you?"

Andros sighed, but stopped, letting the others catch up to him. Before he could start walking again, Ashley had grabbed his arm.

"What's that over there?" she asked, pointing. "It's moving."

"It looks like people," Carlos shouted from the back.

"They're coming towards us," Ashley said.

Andros started walking towards them quickly. Ashley caught his arm before he could get too far ahead.

"Who are you?" one of the masked figures demanded.

"I am Andros," he shouted back, trying to remember who this was. "Who are you?"

"Andros?" the voice repeated, and Andros placed the voice.

"Taikwa?"

"Follow me," she ordered, leading them across the desert to a hidden underground base.

**The hidden underground base**

TJ, Carlos, Cassie and Ashley all tore off their masks as soon as there was breathable air, but Andros removed his more slowly, wondering what the Karovans would think of his team.

"Welcome back," Taikwa said, smiling at him slightly. "Am I right in thinking that you will be leaving soon?"

Andros nodded slowly. "Once Arrow is gone, we need to go back to Earth."

"Why Earth?" Taikwa asked curiously. "We've had no news for two years."

"Astronema's newest target," Andros said. "Divatox took Zordon."

"She what?" Taikwa looked stunned. "How is that even possible?"

"We were outnumbered," Cassie offered softly.

"We tried," Ashley said. "But it wasn't enough."

"You are Earth rangers?"

"We're from Earth," TJ said. "But we have Astromorphers."

"We all know that now," Taikwa said, glancing at Andros. "Your parents . . . informed us."

"Oh," Andros muttered. "I figured they would."

"Arrow is back," Taikwa said.

"I know," Andros said. "We came to stop him."

"I'll let Kin Won know that you're here," Taikwa said, and left the room.

Andros exhaled slowly and sat down. Ashley wandered over to him.

"She doesn't seem to blame you," she said softly, so that only he could hear. "I'll bet you that the others won't, either."

"It doesn't matter," Andros said shortly. "I blame myself."

"You can't let your guilt always be the center of your mind," Ashley said.

"It reminds me of what I need to do," Andros said. "You couldn't understand."

"I couldn't?" Ashley asked him. "Andros, we all understand."

"No, you don't," he said.

"We were the ones who lost Zordon," Ashley said softly.

"Oh," Andros said. He glanced up at her. She always seemed so happy, it didn't seem possible that she would ever have something to feel guilty about.

"Andros?"

"Kin Won," Andros said slowly, standing up, and turning to face the leader of the colony. "I heard you needed help."

"You remember Arrow?" Kin Won asked. "He has returned."

"I heard," Andros said. "Do you know why?"

"No," Kin Won replied. "But we've detected his spacecraft in this system several times."

"I've already offered you my opinion on this matter," another voice growled, and Andros looked behind Kin Won to see Taikwa standing beside another man, who was glaring at him with intense dislike.

"Yatru," Kin Won said warningly. "We've been over it many times."

He turned to Andros. "This is Yatru. He came from one of the smaller planets Dark Specter invaded."

"Red Ranger," Yatru said. "I suggest you have several guards on Arrow this time. It's harder to overpower five than one."

"I will," Andros said. "But where is he?"

"We haven't gone and looked," Kin Won said. "But-"

Andros looked down as his communicator beeped.

"The Megaship is coming under fire," Deca informed him. "I am returning fire, and the enemy has backed away."

"I think we found him," TJ muttered softly to the other rangers.

"Deca, teleport -" Andros began, but he was cut off when his morpher was yanked off his wrist.

Ashley cried out in alarm as Yatru leveled a blaster at Andros' head.

"The rest of them," he ordered shortly. "Throw them to me."

"No," Andros ordered. "Don't do it."

Yatru caught Andros in a web of very familiar lightning.

"Darkonda," TJ shouted. "Let him go."

The lightning grew brighter, and Andros cried out in pain. Ashley watched him, wincing as she realized that she felt a shadow of the pain. Without further hesitation, she tossed her morpher to the ground beside Darkonda. After a moment, the others followed suit, realizing that they had no choice if they wanted to keep their red ranger.

"Much better," Darkonda said, laughing as the lightning disappeared. Andros fell to the ground, wincing, and Darkonda motioned for him to join the others. TJ and Ashley stepped forward, supporting him on either side, and he leaned against them gratefully.

"The rest of you," Darkonda said, turning his head enough to see the rebels, but not enough for him to be taken by surprise by the rangers. "Out. Silently. Or I will kill them all."

The rebels filed out, leaving the rangers unmorphed facing Darkonda at his full strength. Darkonda lifted a communicator device to his mouth and spoke into it.

"I have them," he said. "You may join us now."

He laughed again.

A streak of dark light flared up between him and the rangers, and Andros leaned more heavily against Ashley and TJ as he realized what was happening.

"You remember me, Red Ranger."

Andros glared bitterly at the gold-trimmed dark gray helmet that was turned towards him.

"Arrow."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Of course everything will be all right. Until I decide to have someone almost die. Yes, Arrow did it, but that's not until much later._

_**Maresia Eterna:** I know it. Being evil is fun. You'll find out how they get together in a few more chapters._

_**Jenny:** Yeah, they're linked, but Andros is still too stubborn to accept it. I never liked Darkonda much either. I liked Elgar though. He was cool._

_**GreenDayfan1:** You're half right. _: )

_**Miss Natalya:** Sorry. I use cliffhangers a lot. _: )

Chapter 12

**The hidden underground base**

Arrow laughed. He motioned with his arm, and a sword appeared, glinting dangerously in the dim light. In one swift motion, he cut down Darkonda.

"He was useless anyway," Arrow said lightly as Darkonda erupted into flames. "Although he was successful in abtaining your morphers, leaving you all defenseless against me."

He glanced down at the pile near his feet briefly, and Andros started forward, but Arrow twitched his sword arm, and Andros stopped.

"Very good, Red Ranger," Arrow said. "You realize that you are outmatched."

Andros bit back a retort.

"Blue Ranger," Arrow said. "Step away from the others."

TJ made no move.

"Now," Arrow snapped. "Or I will kill them. Darkonda was my ally. Would you like to see what I do to my enemies?"

TJ slowly moved to where Arrow pointed.

"Join him, Pink Ranger."

Cassie followed TJ.

"And you, Black Ranger."

Carlos stepped over to where TJ and Cassie were, leaving Andros and Ashley standing together, Ashley still supporting Andros.

"What are you doing?" Andros demanded. "It won't work."

"We'll see," Arrow laughed.

His gray suit shimmered for a moment, and Andros had a glimpse of the man beneath it. The cold gray eyes chilled him.

"No," Arrow shouted. "Not again."

Andros allowed himself to breath a little easier. This wasn't going according to plan. There as a chance that they'd all be okay. Then Arrow's suit solidified, and Andros found the point of the sword at his neck. Instinctively, the arm that Ashley had around him tightened.

"I've waited a long time for this, Red Ranger," Arrow breathed. His helmeted head turned to Ashley. "Step away from him, Yellow Ranger."

Ashley took her time moving, desperately trying to think.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, moving to the left, but pulling Andros with her. "What did he do to you?"

"You mean you don't know?" Arrow asked.

"I have no idea what happened," Ashley said, speaking as slowly as she could. She hoped that Arrow's ego would be unable to resist the chance to tell his story.

"I am not of this dimension," Arrow began, and Ashley started breathing again.

"In my dimension, I am the ruler. I own the universe. There are no rangers like yourselves to ruin everything that I stand for. My scientists found a way to create space mirrors, and I stepped through into the other dimensions. I was apalled by what I saw. Good ruled evil."

He paused, and Andros felt the blade dig a little deeper into his skin. He said nothing, watching the sword out of the corner of his eye.

"One by one, the other dimensions yeilded to me. I came to this one, intending to take it as well. I did not count on being stopped by two children who barely understood the power that they were handed."

"We understood," Andros said. "That's why we risked our lives to stop you."

"Quiet, Red Ranger," Arrow warned. He pressed harder on the sword, and Andros bit his lip hard as he felt it draw blood. Beside him, he felt Ashley slowly inching her way to the left, tugging on his arm gently.

"Yes, you stopped me," Arrow admitted. "But not for long."

He laughed. "You may be a good fighter, Red Ranger, but you are all too gullible."

Arrow laughed again, a sound that was cut off abruptly as several shots hit him from behind. The instant he whirled to see who was shooting at him, Ashley leaped forward, seizing his wrist, and pulling the sword away from Andros, who dove for their morphers. The other rangers quickly formed a wall around Andros, who was Arrow's main target.

"You all right?" TJ asked.

Andros nodded, reaching up to touch his neck, grimacing when he saw blood on his hand.

"It's only a little," Cassie assured him.

"Andros!" Ashley gasped. "What's going on?"

He followed her gaze, and nearly fainted.

"Zhane?"

"Who else?" came the laughing voice of his friend. "Woke up from my little nap, and Deca thought you could use some help."

"Ready?" Andros asked the others.

"Let's rocket!" they cried.

Arrow half-turned, firing at them with a laser blaster. Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie managed to dodge the shots, but one grazed TJ's ribs before slamming into Andros' chest. Pain filled his mind, and he fell hard, landing on his side. He heard several voices shouting his name, and then it became much harder to hear anything.

"Andros!" Zhane shouted, managing to hit Arrow squarely with several blasts. Arrow's suit shimmered again, and he howled with frustration.

"I will be back for you, Red Ranger," he vowed.

He teleported out, and Zhane went to where his friend was lying motionlessly on the floor. The blast had demorphed Andros, and he was lying there with his eyes closed, but he was still breathing. The other rangers had demorphed as well.

"Come on, wake up," Carlos said.

"Andros, wake up," Ashley said. She was kneeling by his side, her hand gripping his. "Come on, you're stronger than this."

"Not to mention just plain stubborn," Zhane added. "Think of how satisfied Arrow will be if you die."

"Let's get him back to the Megaship," TJ said, and they all nodded.

**The Megaship**

They teleported directly into the medical bay, not wanting to move Andros any more than they had to. Deca ran several tests on him before announcing that he should recover, but she couldn't tell them when he would wake up.

"He'll be fine," Zhane assured them. "It is unbelievably hard to kill him."

"Not to be rude," Carlos said. "But who the hell are you?"

"I'm Zhane," he introduced himself. "I'm the silver ranger."

He looked at their faces. "Andros didn't tell you about me, did he?"

"He told me," Ashley said softly. "Or at least, he mentioned you."

"Can someone explain for the rest of us?" TJ asked.

"We've got plently of time," Zhane said.

At these words, they all glanced at the bed where Andros was lying motionlessly, the only sign that he was still alive the beeping that signaled the beating of his heart.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** _: )

_**Maresia Eterna:** Sorry. I promise, this chapter won't end with a cliffhanger. _

_**Miss Natalya:** Thank you. There should be so many more stories about Andros and Ashley. _

_**GreenDayfan1:** I love Zhane. I actually like him better than Andros, but Andros and Ashley make a much cuter couple than Zhane and Karone. Arrow went away for awhile, but he'll be back. _

_**Jenny: **Whatever, laziness is fine. As long as you meant it all._

Chapter 13

**The Megaship**

Zhane stood by Andros' patient bed, listening to the monitors beep.

"So this is how he felt," he said out loud, not expecting to get a response.

"When you almost died, you mean?"

Zhane turned to see the yellow ranger standing in the doorway. Ashley, that was her name.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Are you?" he retorted, seeing her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Ashley nodded, and brushed her sleeve across her eyes. "I wish . . . that he'd let me in," she murmured softly.

"Andros?" Zhane said. "He keeps people away. I was his best friend, and he didn't even trust me."

"I know," Ashley said. "But whenever he's feeling lonely or depressed . . . I feel it, too."

"What do you mean?" Zhane asked, a sudden suspicion flaring up in his mind. He dismissed it almost immediately, but he wanted to be sure.

"I mean I feel whatever he feels," Ashley said softly. "Like today, when Darkonda had him, I felt something. It didn't hurt, exactly, it was a kind of tingling feeling, and I knew that he was in pain."

She paused thoughtfully. "I know I'm explaining it badly, but it's hard to explain."

"Does he feel what you feel?" Zhane asked. He leaned in towards her, making his question all the more urgent.

Ashley shrugged. "He pretty much ignored me completely for the first four months that we were here. He treated the others all right, but he just acted like I wasn't even there, and then . . . it's a long story, but then he went back to ignoring me."

"And then?" Zhane prompted, sensing that there was more.

Ashley sighed. "Then his parents decided to visit."

Zhane sighed as well. "Loving people, aren't they?"

"How can they do that to him?" Ashley's eyes were sad as she glanced down at Andros' still form. "To their own son?"

Zhane shook his head. "I don't know, but whatever you saw of them, I can guarantee you that they were ten times worse back on KO-35, and ten times worse than that when there was no one else around."

Ashley reached out and took Andros' hand gently, willing him not to die.

"He talked to me," she said. "After they left. And it was, I don't know, but it was like I was seeing it all."

Zhane sighed. "I think you two share a telepathic link."

"A what?" Ashley said. "I'm not telepathic."

_"You sure?"_

Ashley jumped. "How'd you do that?"

"You're telepathic," Zhane informed her. "If you weren't you shouldn't have heard me."

"How can we be linked?" Ashley asked. "Andros doesn't even like me that much."

"But you like him," Zhane said softly. "And you care for him, as more than just a friend."

Ashley slowly nodded. "How can you tell?"

"It's three in the morning," Zhane said. "You said he treated the others better than he did you, but they're not here right now."

"If we're linked, then why did he ignore me?" Ashley wanted to know.

"That's probably my fault," Zhane said, grinning slightly. "Telepaths can sense each other. The closer they are, the stronger the link, and when one vanishes suddenly, well, it hurts."

His smile faded as he added, "And Andros has obviously been hurt enough."

"If - When he wakes up," Ashley said, trying not to think about the first word she'd said, "Do you think he'd let me in?"

Zhane nodded.

"I think he cares for you too," he said. "That's why he's avoided you. If he hates you, it won't hurt to lose you. But he can only tell himself that for so long."

Ashley yawned and nodded. Zhane pointed to the other bed.

"Sleep," he said. "I'll wake you up if anything changes."

Ashley nodded. She climbed onto the bed, and Zhane tossed her a blanket.

"Thank you," she murmured sleepily.

"Good night," Zhane replied.

It took Ashley a long time to fall asleep, but finally Zhane was left watching over the red and yellow rangers. He couldn't help but notice that Andros looked completely at peace while Ashley was sleeping fitfully.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**GreenDayfan1:** Happy birthday! (It should be Wednesday by the time you read this.) Glad you like it. Andros is cool, I just always love the comic relief, which he was definately not._

_**Miss Natalya: **You're the first person to actually like my cliffhangers. See, Jenny, they're good things. _: )

_**Jenny:** Okay, you guessed right again. _

_**DV2:** Thank you. _: )

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I love Zhane too. This chapter should be sweeter, though._

_**Maresia Eterna:** Here's more. _: )

Chapter 14

His first concsious thought was that he was in pain. Dimly, Andros remembered the confrontation with Arrow at the rebel base, but it seemed more like a nightmare than a reality. Reality hit as he tried to move. Hot, sharp pain shot through his chest, and he fell back against the pillows on the patient bed, concentrating hard on breathing evenly. He closed his eyes against the bright lights of the medical bay, and tried to fall asleep again, where at least he could be comfortable.

"Andros?" he heard someone ask. "Are you awake?"

"Ashley?" he asked. His throat was dry and ached when he talked.

"Yeah, it's me," she said. "Zhane went to get some sleep."

"How long was I out?" Andros asked, his voice hoarse.

"Five days," Ashley said. "Thirsty?"

Andros nodded, his eyes still closed. He heard Ashley walk away from the bed, and he heard the whirring sound of the Synthetron.

"Can you sit up?" Ashley asked, sitting down near him.

He shook his head.

"I'll help you," Ashley offered, and after a moment, Andros nodded. Ashley slipped an arm beneath his shoulders, and gently eased him into a sitting position. After a moment, Andros relaxed, realizing that if he moved slowly, he didn't hurt as much.

"Here," Ashley said, pressing a glass of cold water into his hand. He raised it to his lips and gulped it down. The first few swallows hurt, but soon the liquid slid down his throat smoothly, and he could talk again.

"Deca, can you dim the lights?" he asked.

"Of course," Deca replied.

Andros opened his eyes as the lights went down, and Ashley's face came into focus. She smiled at him, relieved.

"How are you feeling?"

Andros opened his mouth to say "Fine," but he shifted slightly and groaned.

"It hurts," he muttered.

"I know," Ashley said. "While you were out, I talked to Zhane. He thinks that we have some sort of telepathic bond."

She watched his face carefully for any kind of reaction, anger, surprise, anything, but he did nothing to give away what he was feeling.

"Andros?" Ashley asked. "I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I feel whatever you feel."

"I know," Andros said quietly, looking down at his hands. "I feel whatever you feel, too. I've known it for awhile, I guess, but I didn't want to accept it."

"Why?" Ashley asked before she could help herself. "Do I bother you that much?"

Andros shook his head. "You don't bother me. I don't think you ever really did."

"Then why-"

"Because," Andros said softly. "Because as soon as I saw you, I cared about you."

Ashley looked up at him, and Andros almost stopped talking, but he didn't want to be alone anymore. "I was afraid," he muttered. "Afraid that I'd lose you somehow, if I let you get too close."

"Andros," Ashley said softly. He felt her hop up next to him. "Look at me."

When his soft hazel eyes met hers, her nerve almost failed her, but slowly, Ashley leaned in and very gently brushed her lips over his. Tentatively, Andros returned the kiss. He was intending to pull back, but Ashley's arms wrapped themselves around his neck, and he couldn't. Instead, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her again, a little more sure of himself. As they both pulled back, Andros couldn't help feeling like it was over much too soon.

Andros looked at her shyly. "Ash . . . if you would want to ever go somewhere . . . with me . . . "

"You mean like on a date?" Ashley asked.

Andros nodded, his face slowly turning bright red.

"I'd love that," Ashley said, beaming at him. "Andros?"

He looked at her, and she grinned.

"You're really cute when you're embarassed," she said, and his blush deepened several shades.

"And you're really beautiful," Andros said softly, looking her in the eye. "I always thought so."

Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck again, raising her mouth to his. Her lips were soft and warm, and Andros was unable to resist kissing her a third time. Ashley hugged him as tightly as she dared, not wanting to hurt him. He slipped him arm around her waist, and they sat there together until Andros realized that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"Get some rest," Ashley said, helping him lie down again. "I'll come back later."

Andros nodded his head, his eyes already closed. He heard Ashley walk away, and fell asleep almost instantly, with a smile on his face.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** _: )_Thank you! Your stories are addicting too. Yeah, they're finally together. I was thinking about dragging it out longer, but then I realized just how long that would make this story. Besides, the story gets better once Andros and Ashley are together._

_**Juzblue:** I know, they're finally together. Now I can start having fun . . . _

_**Maresia Eterna:** I've thought about it, but I haven't written one yet. I'm not sure what should happen but sooner or later, I'll write one._

_**Jenny:** Yes, I want to be on your list. I always need to laugh more. Of course Andros is an idiot, and I'm so glad that he is. It makes everything so much more fun. My birthday is August 16. I'd like a standalone on my birthday._

_**GreenDayfan1:** Okay, this is random, but can I use your name when I respond to your reviews? It's just kinda weird calling you GreenDayfan1, but I won't use your name if you don't want me to. Anyway . . . glad you liked it, and your welcome._

_**DV2: **You don't have to wait any longer._

Chapter 15:

Andros tried to sit up, and couldn't keep back the groan that slipped out of his mouth. He sighed, and lay back down, waiting impatiently for someone, anyone, to show up. Something had just occurred to him, and he didn't want to wait long for an answer.

"Andros?"

He smiled when he heard Ashley's voice. He tried to sit up again, but once again, pain shot through his chest, and he fell back.

"Stop moving," Ashley ordered. "You're hurting yourself."

"I don't care," Andros said. "It's boring staring at the ceiling."

Ashley laughed at him before helping him sit. Andros pulled her up onto the bed next to him, kissing her gently. "I'd much rather stare at you," he added, grinning at her. Ashley's face broke into a wide smile, and she kissed him back. Then Andros remembered what he'd been about to ask her, and his smile faded.

"Ash, what happened to Arrow?" he asked, not at all sure that he wanted to know the answer.

Ashley sighed. "He left vowing revenge."

"He got away again," Andros muttered. "I have to catch him."

"Deca's sensors tracked his ship," Ashley said. "He's not in this dimension anymore."

"I have to stop him," Andros said again.

"There's nothing you can do," Ashley pointed out gently. "You can't make a space mirror into Arrow's dimension just appear."

Andros sighed. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to hear it. Ashley took his hand, and squeezed it comfortingly.

"Andros?" she asked hesitantly. "There's something I've been wondering."

Andros nodded his head. He'd been hoping that she'd never ask, but he supposed that it was inevitable.

"Why does Arrow want revenge so badly?" she asked. "I mean, you let him go. You'd think he'd count himself lucky and leave you alone."

Andros looked at her, relieved. Not quite the question he thought she'd ask, and this one he could answer easily.

"Zhane and I were the first people to ever capture him," Andros explained. "He didn't take it well. And then after I . . . helped him escape, I tried to stop him again, and I almost killed him. He didn't like that much, either."

Ashley nodded, and slipped her arm around his waist. They sat there in silence, Andros doing his best to ignore the question that Ashley had chosen not to ask. Finally, he sighed, and looked at her.

"I need to teach you how to control your telepathy," he said. "Do you know that you're projecting your thoughts at me right now?"

"I am? You're reading my mind?"

"Not intentionally," Andros said quickly. "But, yes, I am."

He sighed. "You want to know why I let Arrow go."

Ashley nodded. "But you don't have to tell me."

Andros was silent for a long time. "He told me that if I set him free, he'd tell me where Karone was."

He closed his eyes, afraid to look at Ashley. He felt her arms around him, and he leaned against her, realizing just how much he trusted her.

"I'm sorry," Ashley whispered in his ear. Andros opened his eyes, and looked at her. Ashley tightened her embrace. "It's okay," she whispered softly. "I understand."

_"Thank you,"_ Andros told her telepathically.

"Teach me?" Ashley asked hopefully, and Andros nodded gratefully, eager to change the subject.

"I don't know how much you can learn," Andros cautioned her. "I've never tried to teach anyone from Earth before."

"Have you tried to teach anyone before?"

"That's not the point," Andros said, but he couldn't keep back a smile. He slipped an arm around her waist before saying, "You have to think at the person you want to talk to, and will them to hear you."

_"You mean like this?"_

Andros shifted to stare at her.

"What?" she demanded.

"I didn't think you could actually do it," he admitted. "At least not on the first try."

_"Maybe I'm just special," _Ashley said, and Andros grinned at her before kissing her gently.

_"You're definately special,"_ he told her.

_"Can I take that as a compliment?"_ Ashley grinned.

_"Of course you can,"_ he told her before leaning in to kiss her again.

"Should we come back later?"

Andros and Ashley broke apart to see the four other rangers standing in the doorway, all staring at them. Zhane was hiding a grin, but the other three, Carlos especially, looked shocked.

Andros glanced at Ashley, who smiled sheepishly.

"You guys want to hear a funny story?"


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Juzblue:** Of course there's going to be fun. Some dark and depressing stuff too, but we'll focus on the fun for right now. _: )

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **They'll get used to it eventually. Unless I kill them off first . . . _: )

_**Jenny:** I was having such a bad day, and then I came and read your review, and I feel so much better now. _: )_ Anyway . . . yes, Andros and Ashley are the most perfectest couple ever. _

_**DV2:** I think this one's a little bit longer. I try not to make them too short, but sometimes they come out that way._

_**Maresia Eterna:** If you're waiting until the end to kill me, I think I'll make it several chapters longer. _: )_ I'll write one where Andros stays on KO-35 as soon as I finish both stories that I'm working on right now and I write a sequel to Twist of Fate. So sometime this summer probably. _

_**Melissa:** If you thought that was a cliffhanger, you're really going to hate the rest of the story. I know, it's fun looking at the celing in detention. This one time, our whole class had detention, and everyone was looking up counting the ceiling tiles. It was funny._

_**Miss Natalya: **I'm glad you liked it. _

_**dancer1:** Thanks. I'm glad you liked it, even though they're not your favorite characters. Really, I like Zhane best, and then Andros and Ashley. Who are your favorite characters? _

Chapter 16

**The Megaship- the medical bay**

"You two are . . . " Carlos let his voice trail off, not quite sure of what to say.

"Yes," Ashley said, more defensively than she'd intended. "We are."

"Oh," Carlos said. "That's . . . wow."

"How did you . . . When did you . . . " TJ asked. He'd recovered from his shock and was grinning at them wider than Zhane was. "If it's not to personal," he added hastily.

"Yesterday? The day before?" Andros said, looking at Ashley, who nodded. "I'm not sure what day it is."

"Look, you guys," Ashley said. She glanced at her friends nervously before looking at Andros. "Do we really need to talk about this?"

"We're a team," Carlos reminded her. "We're supposed to trust each other."

"You don't need to know all the details," Ashley said, exasperated. "Andros and I are together. That's it."

"But-" Carlos began, then shrugged. "Never mind," he said, and left.

"Don't worry about him," Cassie assured her friend. "He'll get over it."

"Am I missing something?" Andros asked, looking from Cassie to TJ to Ashley.

Ashley sighed. "Carlos - he-"

She shot a helpless look at Cassie, who understood.

"Carlos had a small crush on Ashley," she explained. "It's not much, but he's jealous."

"Oh," Andros said. He opened his mouth again, and caught himself before he said something stupid. He didn't own Ashley, and he didn't know how deep her feelings for him were.

"We'll leave you alone," TJ said hastily, seeing the expression on Andros' face. He and Cassie left, dragging a disappointed Zhane with them. Ashley sighed.

"That went better than I expected," she said, lightly, but from the way she was staring at the floor, Andros knew that something was bothering her.

"Ash?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

Andros shrugged, and not knowing what else to do, pulled her into his arms. He felt Ashley relax against him, and smiled.

"Ash," he said several minutes later. "I really want to leave this room."

Ashley looked up at him, and smiled. She slid off the bed, and Andros stood, carefully testing his legs before attempting to walk. Ashley wrapped an arm around his waist for support, and he leaned on her gratefully.

**The bridge**

"I don't like this," Carlos said in a low voice. "Andros is ..."

"He's my best friend," Zhane protested, much more loudly. "He'd never hurt her."

"You weren't around to see him before," Cassie said softly.

"Exactly," Carlos said.

"But they were getting closer," Cassie added, and Carlos shot a glare at her. TJ gave the black ranger a warning look.

"Maybe Ashley actually knows what she's doing," he suggested.

Cassie shrugged. "We should stay out of it for now."

"Can't we have a little fun?" Zhane pleaded.

"This is serious," Carlos snapped. "Andros doesn't deserve Ashley."

Their conversation was quickly abandonded as alarms went off all over the ship.

"Deca?" Zhane asked questioningly.

"Astronema is attacking Angel Grove," Deca reported.

"Visuals," Zhane ordered.

"Astronema and... Darkonda?" TJ asked, surprised. "Didn't Arrow blow him up back on the base?"

"Darkonda was granted several lives by Dark Specter," Zhane explained. "Ecliptor as well."

"Why?" Cassie knew they should be morphing, but her curiosity got the better of her.

Zhane shrugged. "They never felt like sharing that information."

"Why are you all standing here?" Andros demanded. They looked up to see him and Ashley standing in the doorway.

"You're going?" Cassie exclaimed, when she saw Andros reach for his morpher. He nodded stubbornly.

"Please?" Ashley begged him. "Stay? Just this once."

"Don't be an idiot," Zhane added. "Do you know how close you came to dying?"

Andros looked from Ashley to Zhane to Ashley again. He sighed. "Just this once."

"Thank you," Ashley whispered in his ear, and he sat down in his seat, not at all happy. Zhane looked at the others.

"Ready?" he asked. "Let's rocket!"

"Deca, teleport five," Andros instructed, and sat back to watch the battle from the safety of the Megaship.

"No red ranger?" Astronema laughed. "Is he too much of a coward to face me?"

"What do you want now?" Cassie demanded.

"Your surrender," Darkonda said, drawing his sword and charging them. Astronema snapped her fingers, and her staff appeared, readying her for battle. The rangers sighed and called upon their own weapons. This was going to be a long day.

Andros watched tensely for several minutes, before realizing that the rangers were faring well, and he allowed himself to relax slightly. No matter how well they were doing, however, he couldn't keep his heart from nearly stopping whenever he saw Ashley in trouble. When Darkonda managed to land a hard blow to her right shoulder, Andros felt a faint jolt shoot through his own shoulder, and he winced. Whatever Ashley had felt had to be much worse.

Suddenly, Astronema laughed, a sound filled with utter triumph. Andros was jerked out of his thoughts and stared at the images before him in horror. Demorphed, he saw TJ and Cassie stagger to their feet, supporting a half-concious Carlos between them. Zhane was swaying unsteadily on his feet, trying to keep Ashley from losing her balance as well.

Darkonda's head came up when he laughed, and Andros had a clear, unobstructed look into his great, bulbous yellow eyes, eyes that triggered a long-forgotten memory, buried under years of nightmares. Then the laugh registered, and the memory grew clearer, sharper, and Andros started trembling with fury.

"Deca, get them out of there," he ordered. "Teleport them directly to the medical bay."

"Affirmative," Deca replied.

Andros wasn't listening. He slipped a small disc out of his locket.

"Play this," he said teresly.

This time, as he watched the kidnapping of his little sister, Andros listened carefully for the laugh that he knew was coming. Darkonda's laugh. When he heard it, he stopped the footage, unable to watch anymore. Closing his eyes, Andros let his face fall forward onto the console, and he sat there numbly, letting his anger and sadness overwhelm him.

"What's wrong?"

Andros didn't move as Ashley took the seat next to him, nor did he react when she touched him shoulder gently.

"Andros?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Her voice sounded small and scared, and this more than anything compelled Andros to look up at her. When he did, he saw her face, still dirty and bruised, staring down at him. Her warm brown eyes were filled with concern, and Andros let her take his hand.

"Darkonda," he managed. "Darkonda took Karone."

_A/N: Okay, so omething finally happened. Umm... I hope you really, really like this story, because at the rate it's going right now, it'll be about thirty five or forty chapters. So I hope you like it, please review. _


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Juzblue:** Yeah, it's going to be really long._

_**Maresia Eterna:** No, it's not a clue, or at least it's not right now, I might change my mind later. _

_**Arwennicole:** He'll see it eventually. I can't write a story where Andros and Ashley don't end up with each other, so he'll have to adjust._

_**Melissa:** I know, I end a lot of chapters with cliffhangers. I've written some of the later chapters, and I can think of one in particular that will get a lot of angry reviews demanding more. Mostly because I end it halfway through a sentence... You'll see. _: )

_**Jenny:** Do I think you're crazy:slowly starts backing out of room: Ummm..._

_**dancer1:** I don't think stories should ever end, either. I love all the sixth rangers. I liked Cam until he became a ranger, and then I kinda hated him. I don't know why._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Don't worry, there will be lots and lots of chapters... I always thought the idea of Ashley and Carlos was kinda icky. That might be because I never saw any episodes of Turbo, but I just can't see it. Sure you can kill him, I'm going to, just not in this story. _

_**Red Ranger Chick: **Okay, I'll add more. _: )

Chapter 17

**The Megaship - the bridge**

"You'll find her." Ashley heard her voice come out surprisingly convincing, a fact that relieved her immensely. She didn't know if there was even a chance that Karone was still alive, but she knew that Andros needed to hear it.

"Don't give up, man," Zhane added, coming around to sit on Andros' other side. "You never did before, and you had no idea what happened to her then."

Andros nodded his head mechanically, letting his friends comfort him.

"I'll be okay," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "I just... I don't like remembering."

"Andros," Ashley said softly. "Can you believe that this was not your fault?"

Andros was leaning forward over the console, with his face resting in his hands. He shook his head, not looking at them. Ashley and Zhane exchanged worried glances over his head, and Ashley resisted the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him out of his guilt. Instead she sighed, and gently pushed him into a sitting position.

"Look at me," she said gently. It took him several minutes, but eventually, Andros raised his eyes to hers, and she smiled at him. "Now listen to me. If all you focus on is how this is all your fault, you won't ever be able to think clearly. And if you are going to find her, you need to think about her, and not about how guilty you feel. Understand?"

Slowly, Andros nodded his head. Somehow, the guilt that was burning deep inside him faded a little, enough for him to smile slightly at the memory of his sister.

"That's better," Ashley said.

Andros looked up at her, and held her gaze for several long seconds before turning to Zhane and doing the same.

"Tell me something," he said, his eyes flickering between the two people that he truly trusted, who were watching him solemnly. "Do you honestly think that I can find her?"

"Yes," Ashley said firmly.

"Yes," Zhane echoed, his voice no less sure.

"Thank you," Andros said quietly. "Both of you."

He stood up, muttering something about going to bed. Zhane clapped his friend on the shoulder, a gesture Andros mimicked. Andros looked at Ashley.

"Can I kiss you goodnight?" he asked shyly.

Ashley smiled and nodded. Zhane made a point of looking in the opposite direction while Andros and Ashley locked lips, but he couldn't help noticing the light shining in his best friend's eyes whenever Ashley was near him.

"Night," Ashley whispered, pulling him into a close embrace. "Everything will be okay."

Andros said nothing, but smiled faintly at the reassurance. Zhane let out a low whistle as he left the room.

"You've been together two days?"

"Not you too," Ashley groaned.

"No, not that," Zhane said quickly. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Ashley asked warily.

"Did Andros, by any chance, explain about telepathic bonds?" Zhane asked. At Ashley's confused look, he sighed. He wasn't sure it was his place to explain it to her, but if Andros hadn't, she still needed to know.

"Do you believe in soulmates?"

"For some people," Ashley said quietly.

"With telepaths," Zhane said softly, "It's obvious who those people are. They just have this connection, where they can always sense each other and if their bond is strong enough, it's almost impossible for one to live without the other."

"You think that Andros and I - " Ashley began, increduously, only for Zhane to cut her off.

"I'm not saying that," he interrupted. "But all telepaths have _some_ connection with each other. You and Andros have that at least."

Ashley sighed, and smiled. "Sometimes it's a lot simpler dating someone from your own planet with your own mental limitations."

"And yet you chose Andros," Zhane teased her.

"I think we chose each other," Ashley said quietly. "It just feels right to be with him."

**The Dark Fortress**

Astronema sighed and lay back on her bed. Ever since her last battle with the rangers, she'd been unable to shake the feeling that there was something that wasn't quite right. The rangers themselves seemed different now, as if they weren't the enemy. Granted, she'd never taken much of a liking to Darkonda, and had been pleased to see him meet yet another end, but it was something more than that.

It had to be the silver ranger. The feeling had surfaced long before he'd appeared, but it had intensified since he'd been around.

Somewhere in the far reaches of her mind, a long forgotten memory surfaced, and for the briefest second, her head was filled with the image of a small blond boy with sparkling blue eyes. He couldn't have been more than five, and she somehow knew that she was considerably younger than him, but she also knew that he was the other half of her soul.

The memory vanished so quickly that Astronema was tempted to believe that it had all been her imagination, but her heart refused to dismiss it. She closed her eyes, not willing to accept what she could now see.

"No," she muttered. "I don't even know his name. I can't love him, I don't even know him."

"My princess? Is everything all right?"

She spoke to Ecliptor without turning around. "Tell me again how you found me."

"You were only a small child," Ecliptor said, as he had many times before, when she was small and still entertained the hope of finding her family. "Your family was destroyed by the red ranger. Dark Specter gave you to me to protect and raise as my own daughter."

Astronema sighed. She would think about this later.

"I need a monster."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yeah, Zhane and Karone are soulmates too. Please, please, please, update soon yourself. _: )_ It's okay, I'll be patient..._

_**DV2:** I got lazy, so I jumped ahead in time four months, so just assume that they captured Astronema._ : )

_**Juzblue:** Here's more._

_**Jenny:** That's what would have happened, if I'd written that chapter, but I didn't want him to find out the same way, and I couldn't think of anything else, and I was feeling lazy, so I skipped a couple of months. Someday, I will write a story that you can't guess._ : )

_**Melissa:** Here's more. I hope it gets your mind off things for awhile. The little blond boy was Zhane, in case you're wondering._

_**Princess Emmie: **Thanks._

Chapter 18

**The Observatory - Four Months Later**

Andros stared up at the stars, feeling oddly out of place. He'd never thought that he'd ever get Karone back, or that Zhane would live, and now he had them both back, but it felt like he'd lost them again when they'd fallen in love with each other.

He heard footsteps behind him, and someone entered the observatory. Andros sighed heavily when he felt Ashley's arms wrap around his neck. She rested her chin on the top of his head for a moment before coming around to sit next to him. Andros pulled her sideways into his lap, his arms curving around her waist in a firm grip.

"What's wrong?"

Andros looked at her, unable to word his conflicting emotions. He stared at her for several minutes, trying to think of a way to explain everything. Closing his eyes, he tried to project his jumbled thoughts at her, hoping that she'd understand. Immediately, Ashley pulled him into her arms again, her touch reassuring him that everything was all right.

"They love each other," Ashley said softly. "You don't have to worry. Karone's more likely to hurt Zhane than he is to hurt her."

"But she doesn't need me anymore," Andros whispered.

"She doesn't need you to protect her her every waking moment," Ashley said. "But she still needs her brother."

"I know," Andros sighed. "But I guess I always thought that when I found her, everything would be... different."

"Nothing's ever perfect," Ashley told him. "No matter how much we wish it was."

Andros sighed again, and wrapped his arms around Ashley, not wishing for his life to be perfect, but only for the courage to tell her that he loved her. He'd known for quite awhile now how he'd felt about her, but he didn't know if she loved him, and he didn't want to risk losing her.

"Andros?" Ashley asked quietly. "Everything's going to be okay, isn't it?"

Her voice was unusually small, and when Andros pulled back enough to see into her eyes, he saw all her fears and doubts.

"What's wrong, Ash?"

Ashley sighed, and Andros tightened his hold on her. "It's just a feeling, that's all," Ashley muttered. "It's probably nothing."

"But?" Andros prompted gently, his hands taking hers.

"Nothing's happened for almost a month," Ashley said softly. "It's only the calm before the storm, Andros, and - and..."

Her voice trailed off, and when Andros looked at her, he saw her biting her lip, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Ash?"

"I'm scared," Ashley admitted, a single tear escaping her eye, making its way slowly down her cheek. Andros brushed it away, staring at her with concerned eyes.

"I won't ever let anything happen to you, Ash," he promised, pulling her as close to him as he could. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself for it.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ashley whispered, burying her face in his neck. "If you got hurt because of me, I wouldn't be able to stand it because..."

"You're starting to sound like me," Andros said seriously, gently stroking her hair with one hand, his other arm holding her to him. "That can't be a good sign."

"I'm serious, Andros," Ashley said, pulling back to look him in the eye. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Andros whispered fiercely. "Not ever. I'd never let you go."

Ashley relaxed against him once again, her head resting on his shoulder, and her legs dangling over the side of the chair.

"Ashley?" he said timidly, his heart starting to pound. She pulled her head back to look at him questioningly.

"I love you," Andros confessed in a rushed whisper. His hazel eyes met her brown ones tentatively, afraid of what he might see there, but in place of whatever he had expected, he saw what he felt for her mirrored back at him. Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, almost hiding her face against him.

"I love you too," she whispered in his ear.

Gently, Andros tilted her face towards him, kissing her, softly at first, then with growing passion, thinking that he could spend his entire life here, with her, under the sparkling stars.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Princess Emmie:** Here's more. _: )

_**DV2: **Sorry, there's going to be a lot of mushy chapters, but this one has action._

_**Juzblue:** Sorry it took me so long to update. The next chapter will be up in a day or two, I promise. :_ )

_**dancer1:** As long as you're reading. _: )

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** They'll stay adorable together, I promise. _

_**Jenny:** I don't know why Andros said "I love you" first. I just kinda like having him say it first, because he's too much of an idiot to know for sure if Ashley loves him or not, so it's kinda fun. It's also kinda fun calling Andros an idiot. And I CAN write a story that you don't guess. Well kinda. In Twist of Fate, the parts that aren't about Andros and Ashley you didn't guess. Yay! Sorry. _: ) _I've apologized to half the people I'm responding to. WHY? Anyway... Yeah, I think all writers of Andros/Ashley stories have a psychic connection, or at least we're all very intuitive to each other's stories. Ya know, if everyone who loved Andros/Ashley stories worked together, that would be the most awesome story ever. _

_**Melissa: **Um... I don't really remember what Zhane looked like, except that he was blond, and I think his hair was kinda spiky. I'm pretty sure his eyes were blue, and if they weren't, they are now._

Chapter 19

**Angel Grove - One Month Later **

"I will see you again," Ashley whispered, pressing her fingers against his lips, keeping him from saying what she didn't want to hear. Andros nodded, understanding, resisting the urge to kiss her. It took almost all the strength he had left, but he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to go.

He took a step back, trying to distance himself from Ashley. She started to take a step forward, then stopped, and for one awful moment, he thought that she was going to speak again. Silently, he begged her not to, knowing that if she asked him to stay, he wouldn't be able to refuse her, and if he didn't go, there was no other chance.

Tears welled up in Ashley's eyes, and she let them fall freely, never taking her eyes off of Andros. He took a deep breath, and turned away from her, waiting until his helmet covered his face before letting a few tears slowly trickle down his face. Taking one final look at her, he left, praying that she wouldn't die here, that he could stop it all in time, placing all of his faith on her last words to him._ I will see you again._

As she watched him disappear, Ashley felt as though someone had wrenched her heart out. _He'll be fine,_ she tried to convince herself, not letting herself think about what would happen if he wasn't. Living her life without Andros had become unimaginable. Briefly, she touched the necklace that Andros had given her for her birthday, just a few weeks ago, hoping with all her soul that she would see him again.

Choking back her sobs, Ashley turned slowly, and walked listlessly to the 'shelter' the rangers had assembled.

"He's gone, isn't he?" Zhane asked softly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Ashley nodded, her face crumpling.

"Do you need some time?" Carlos asked quietly.

Ashley took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I'll be fine," she said shakily. "We don't have enough time to waste."

Carlos cast her a skeptical look, but nodded.

"Okay," TJ said. "This is what we need to do..."

**The Dark Fortress**

Andros discarded his Battelized armor as he slipped quietly onto the battleship, dropping silently to the floor. He drew his Astroblaster quickly, checking to make sure that there was no one around before he set off down the hall, searching for any sign of Karone.

Nearly panicking when he heard foosteps, he hid himself in a corner, firing in the opposite direction, immensely relieved when the Quantrons and Ecliptor filed past without paying him any notice. However, as he turned to lock the door, Ecliptor saw him, and cried out, "Red Ranger!"

Andros spun, firing his Astroblaster. None of the shots hit, but they held Ecliptor back long enough for Andros to seal the door shut. As he stepped into the room, the noise Ecliptor was making trying to break down the door faded, and he founded himself surrounded by an eerie quiet that was louder than anything he'd ever heard before.

"Andros."

"Zordon?" Andros gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Shatter my energy tube," Zordon directed him. "Quickly, there is not much time left."

"I can't," Andros said. "Don't ask me to do it. There has to be another way."

"There is no other way," Zordon said firmly. "You must do it."

**Angel Grove**

"We are the Power Rangers," TJ shouted, his voice carrying through the suddenly silent ruins of Angel Grove.

"Ready?" Zhane cried, standing in for Andros.

"Let's rocket!" they shouted together.

"Destroy them!" Astromena shrieked, before vanishing.

The rangers leapt down off the rooftop, more than ready to end the battle that had gone on for far too long. Ashley knew that she should be concentrating on the fight, but it was impossible to keep her mind from wandering to Andros. It felt wrong fighting without him. She'd grown so used to watching his back, and having him watch hers, that now she was almost having to relearn it all over again.

"Ashley," Zhane shouted. "Look out!"

She spun out of the way just in time to evade a Quantron's blow. _Pay attention,_ she told herself sternly. It wouldn't do Andros any good to come back and find her dead. Forcing herself to be aware of her surroundings, she continued fighting mechanically, her body knowing exactly what to do while her mind was struggling to comprehend exactly what was going on.

**The Dark Fortress**

"You!"

"Karone!" Andros cried, whirling as his sister appeared. "It's me, Andros."

"Goodbye, brother," Astronema laughed.

"Karone, no," Andros pleaded, trying to defend himself without harming his sister.

Astronema sent a well-placed shot at him and he fell back, landing hard, finding himself staring up into his sister's hard eyes. "Karone!"

He didn't mean to deflect the blast back at her. He hadn't realized that he'd raised his Spiral Saber to defend himself, but he had, and the lighting flew back at Astronema, who had no way to defend herself. The instant she fell limply to the ground, Andros knew that she was dead, but he tried in vain to wake her. He couldn't have killed Karone. He just couldn't have.

"Look what you've done!" Ecliptor shouted, managing to break through the door at last. "And to your own sister."

"It was an accident," Andros said dully. "I didn't mean to."

"Red Ranger, you will pay for this," Ecliptor vowed. Without another word, he charged at Andros, who fought back listlessly, guilt already weighing heavily on him.

"Andros, you must destroy my energy tube," Zordon intoned.

"Right," Andros said. He'd been thrown across the room as a result of one of Ecliptor's hits, and Ecliptor could do nothing to stop him as he raised his Spiral Saber.

"No," Ecliptor shouted as Zordon's energy tube was shattered. From it, a bright light radiated, spreading, growing, completely surrounding Andros. As it shot through the universe, Andros could see the evil crumbling, and the cries of triumph, relief, and sadness that came from the rangers that defended it.

Numbly, he took the controls, bringing the Dark Fortress down to Earth, knowing that he would have to face his friends sooner or later. He landed the ship smoothly, and turned, lifting his sister's lifeless body in his arms. The door hissed open, and he descended the steps slowly, very aware of the fact that what seemed like the entire world was staring at him.

"Andros!" he heard Ashley shout, and then he saw his friends forming a wall around him as he set Karone's body down gently. Raising his eyes, he saw them staring back at him, stunned. Bowing his head, Andros felt tears dropping from his eyes.

"Andros?"

His eyes shot open as he heard his sister's voice. "Karone?" he gasped out.

"How did I get here?" Karone blinked her blue eyes, dazed.

"It's a long story," Andros said, helping her to her feet and hugging her tightly. Then the other rangers surrounded them, and he felt Ashley throw her arms around his neck.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, holding her close.

"I told you I'd see you again," Ashley said shakily.

Gently, Andros brushed his lips over hers, whispering in her ear, "I love you."

"Come on," TJ said, loudly enough to penetrate their conversation. "We've got work to do."

"Right," Andros said, composing himself enough to break away from Ashley and take charge again. "Let's clean up." Ashley nodded, but she stuck by his side as they began putting the world back together again.

**The Megaship**

Several hours later, Andros fell back on his bed, exhausted after several hours worth of work, but not the least bit tired. He knew that he would have to return to KO-35 and help them rebuild their world as well. It didn't seem right just leaving the Earth, shirking their duty to repair the damage that had been done, but they had all decided to keep the team together, wherever they went.

He sighed. The next few months were going to be long.

_"Andros?"_ He smiled as he heard Ashley's voice fill his head.

_"Can't you sleep?"_ he asked her.

_"No,"_ she replied. _"How about you?"_

_"No,"_ he said.

_"Want some company?"_

_"I'd love some," _he admitted, standing up to open the door for her. Ashley sank down onto his bed, and curled up in his arms.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear. "So much."

"I love you too," Ashley whispered back. "Andros, I was so scared that you were going to get yourself killed, and I'd never see you again."

Andros kissed the back of her neck gently. "Don't worry, Ash. I'm fine. It's all over now."

Ashley rolled over and kissed him. Andros kissed her back, his lips claiming hers over and over again. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked her suddenly several minutes later. She gazed up into his eyes, and saw a mixture of love and longing.

She hesitated for a brief second as her head and her heart argued back and forth. Then she looked up into his eyes again, and all her doubts vanished. "No," she whispered, the word barely out of her mouth before Andros kissed her again. Slowly, she let him become the center of her entire universe, as everything else disappeared but them.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Not mine

_A/N: I'm responding to people who reviewed the last chapter of Twist of Fate here too, so if you're looking for a response, it's here..._

_**Sandra:** There's lots more. It just took me awhile to get the last chapter up, but you'll see what his parents think of him now in this chapter._

_**Melissa:** I've actually never thought of that... Hey, thanks! Are you going to have him say that too?... _

_**Princess Emmie:** Thanks. _

_**DizneeDol:** I'll update as soon as I can, and I'm not putting up anything else until I finish this one, so I'll update quicker._

_**Ani:** Sorry it took me so long to update. I'll try to update faster from now on._

_**Jenny:** Okay, this will take awhile... No, I didn't recycle the parts from Twist of Fate. At least, I haven't yet, and I'm not planning on it. And I know it was rushed. That was because the chapters from the time Andros and Ashley get together and this one could have been left out, but I realized that after I'd already written them, and I didn't feel like changing it. And actually, the story is about Arrow. He'll be back pretty soon, and then the stuff that's actually relevant to the story can happen. I don't think there's going to be a sequel to this one, but we'll see..._

_**the-power-of-love:** Sorry, this really wasn't all that soon. _: )

_Responses for Twist of Fate:_

_**Juzblue: **Yeah, I guess it was pretty sweet. For some reason, I can't write Andros/ Ashley as anything other than sweet._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **Actually, LucyE has the closest birthday, but if I have time, I'll write you one too._

_**Jenny:** Umm... Well, as long as you know that you're crazy, I guess there's no harm in me agreeing with you. _: )

_**Melissa:** I'll try, but I'm not promising anything._

_**DizneeDol:** I'm not putting up the sequel until I finish Mirror, Mirror. Okay, I probably will, but I'm trying not to write two things at once... even though it's more like three or four or fifteen..._

_**LucyE:** Yay, you have the closest birthday, so you get the standalone. _

_**Princess Emmie:** I love happy endings. Especially when it comes to Andros and Ashley. _: )

_**Arwennicole:** Thanks... A lot of people liked the story, after they figured out what it was about. Maybe I should explain stuff more... _: )

_**the-power-of-love: **Sorry, LucyE has the closest birthday. I'll write you one next year. _: ) _I should really stop promising to write people stuff..._

Chapter 20

"Approaching KO-35," Deca announced primly, Earth's blue-green twin visible against the vast blackness of space, blending in nicely amongst a spattering of red and yellow-white stars.

"Descend," Andros ordered briskly, succeeding in concealing all reservations he had about returning to his homeworld. They had won the war, and in their eyes he had redeemed himself for whatever failures were his, but in their eyes, he had never truly failed them to begin with.

Beside him, Karone was struggling to keep from running around, shrieking with joy. For the first time in eleven years, she was going home, to the family that she barely remembered. Andros watched his sister with a smile that faded as he thought about his parents. He hadn't told Karone about the nightmare that became his life after she had disappeared, not wanting her to either blame herself or feel sorry for him. He knew that she was going to figure it out sooner or later, but he wasn't quite sure how he should do it, especially since Karone remembered their parents with love.

He exhaled slowly as Deca brought them down smoothly through the atmosphere, feeling his stomach growing more uneasy with each passing moment.

_"Are you doing all right?"_ He looked up, startled, as he heard Ashley speak to him telepathically.

_"I'm fine,"_ he replied, his mental voice no doubt sounding as forced to her as it did to him, but he couldn't have handled talking to anyone just then.

_"Okay,"_ Ashley shrugged at him, and he glanced at her, feeling slightly guilty. She met his eye, and smiled slightly. Andros gave her a strained smile in return, and took a deep breath as the Megaship slowed to a halt. He waited for at least a full ten minutes before finally standing up.

"Let's go," he said, turning and motioning at the others to follow him. Karone gave him a curious glance as she practically ran past him, but the others seemed to understand. Zhane grabbed him by the elbow, and pulled him aside.

"Listen, man," he said, giving his friend an unusually serious look. "Don't lose it, all right?"

"I'm fine," Andros said through grit teeth. He knew Zhane was only trying to help, as Ashley had been, but he didn't care. He didn't want any more advice or pity. He just wanted this to all be over.

He spotted his parents the instant the doors hissed open. He watched their expressions change from contempt as they saw him to utter joy and disbelief as Karone ran past him.

"Karone!" his mother shouted, recognizing her daughter, and flinging her arms around her, his father following soon after. Karone and his mother were in tears, and Andros watched the reunion progress with the other rangers. Finally, his mother stopped crying long enough to look at him.

"Where did you find her?" Her tone was not yet spiteful, but all that would change when the truth came out.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Karone asked anxiously, looking between them. "It's a long story."

"Of course we can, darling," Aldrick assured her, his arm securely around Karone's shoulder. "Come on, Katheri. Let's go home."

"Andros, come on!" Karone urged. He hesitated, but Karone had grabbed him by the arm, and was pulling him along. With a heavy heart, he followed his parents and his sister to the house that had never been his home.

It was exactly the same as he had remembered it. The dark, crowded living room, stuffed with an impossible amount of hideous furniture, and decorated with cheap, tasteless 'art' greeted him as it always had, down to the forboding that settled into the pit of his stomach. To his right, he saw the door to the kitchen unit, to his left, the hallway that led to his closet of a room.

"Karone, angel, where were you all these years?" his mother asked, practically shoving Karone down onto the couch. She sat down next to her, and his father took Karone's other side. Andros remained standing, edging as close to the door as he could get without it becoming blatantly obvious. "We've missed you so much."

"Darkonda was the one who took me," Karone began.

"Darkonda?" Katheri repeated. Her eyes narrowed at Andros. "You said you didn't know who took her!" she said accusingly. "How could you not recognize Darkonda?"

"He didn't see it happen," Karone said. "Darkonda, he took me to Dark Specter. Dark Specter... he made me... he made me Astronema."

There was utter silence for perhaps thirty seconds. Andros held his breath, waiting for the explosion, but when nothing happened, he forced himself to relax. Karone was looking between her parents anxiously.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know who I was, or what I was doing. Whatever I did, I didn't mean to do."

"We know, sweetheart," Aldrick assured her quickly. "It's just a shock, that's all. You being Astronema, and him being the red ranger." Andros remained silent, and his father kept talking. "How did you remember?"

"The locket," Karone said, her fingers closing around it as it hung gracefully from her neck. "Andros saw it, and he saw the pictures, and he made me remember."

"Your brother saved you?" Katheri asked skeptically. "He finally did something right?"

"He saved me twice," Karone said, completely missing their mother's tone. "That time, and then when Dark Specter captured me again."

"Dark Specter captured you again?" Aldrick repeated, his eyes darkening towards his son. "And how did that happen?"

"I snuck onto the Dark Fortress," Karone explained, beginning to realize that something was wrong. "I needed to reprogram an asteroid that Dark Specter sent to Earth. The rangers didn't want to let me go, but I made them. I wanted to do something to make up for all the evil that I'd done."

Aldrick whirled on Andros. "You let your sister return to the Dark Fortress? Alone? What were you thinking?"

Andros flinched as his father took a step closer to him, his fists raised. He tensed, bracing himself for a blow that never came. Suddenly, his father must have remembered that Karone was in the room, and he turned back to her.

"What happened after that?"

Andros shot Karone a pleading look that he hoped his mother didn't notice. If they found out that he'd killed her, he didn't doubt that they would try to kill him. By now, Karone had a rough idea of what had happened during the eleven years she had spent as Astronema.

"When the Countdown started," she said, "Andros snuck onto the Dark Fortress to resuce me. Zordon was there, and he told Andros how to win the war."

She finished talking, and Andros breathed a silent thanks to his sister. His parents were looking from him to Karone, unconvinced that there was nothing more to her story.

"Are you sure that nothing else happened?" Katheri asked, not bothering to hide her disappointment that Andros hadn't made more mistakes.

"Nothing else happened," Karone said firmly. "I'm sure."

"Well, we're so glad that you're alive," Katheri said. "Now, we can forget the last eleven years, and be a family again."

"You," Aldrick said, beckoning to Andros. "Come with me."

"We can talk here," Andros said cooly, speaking for the first time. The walls, a sickening greenish color, were beginning to make him feel ill.

"Now," his father insisted. Andros glanced out of the corner of his eye at Karone, who was still sitting next to his mother, looking startled.

"No," Andros said. He was not about to walk into whatever trap had been layed for him this time.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult?" his mother asked, as if his father only wanted to have a friendly father-son talk. "Andros, just go with your father."

Maybe it was the old habit of always capitulating in the end, or maybe it was hearing her speak his name in a civilized tone for the first time in years, but he nodded, berating himself even as he did so. He was strong, but they were stronger, they still controlled him.

"Maybe we should go back now," Karone suggested, her eyes widening slightly. "I need to get my things from the Megaship..."

"It's all right, Karone," Andros said, though it took most of his will to keep from turning around and running. He wasn't going to hide anymore, he told himself. He should have done this a long time ago. "We'll go in a few minutes."

He followed his father down the short hall as he had countless times before. This time he felt no fear, only anger. This time, he wouldn't be beaten. His room hadn't changed at all, either. It was about the size of the prison cells that he'd seen when he'd been unfortunate enough to be captured. The walls, a brilliant yellow, against a dull red, glared down at him, a constant reminder of the sister he had lost. The room was soundproof, he knew, so the neighbors wouldn't hear his cries as he was pummeled repeatedly with whatever object had been the nearest reach for his parents, or, if there was none, then their fists.

"Well?" he demanded as Aldrick slammed the door behind them. "Get it over with."

"If I had my way, you'd be locked up in here for the rest of your life," Aldrick growled, taking a step closer to Andros, who stood motionlessly, waiting.

"I brought her back," he said, almost sadly. "Isn't that enough?"

"It will _never_ be enough," his father spat. "Until you can give us back the eleven years that you cost us with Karone, it will never be enough, you worthless piece of trash."

Andros felt his temper come close to snapping, and as much as he would have liked to drive his fist straight through his father's angry face, he restrained himself. He was not going to be the one that started it.

"I've heard all this before," he said icily. "I'm leaving now."

"Not yet, you're not," Aldrick snapped.

This time, Andros was ready as Aldrick's fist came at his head. Dodging it, he threw his own punches, catching his father in the right eye and below the jaw. Without waiting to see what happened next, he turned and stormed out of the room.

"I'm going now," he said calmly as he passed his mother and sister. "Karone, I'll see you later."

"Wait," Karone said, running after him as he left. Only once he was out of the house did he turn and wait for her to catch up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to burden you," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you, but I didn't think things would be this bad, not with you coming back."

"They did it all because of me?" Karone's blue eyes flashed furiously.

"They love you, Karone," Andros said softly. "I cost them their little angel."

"But it wasn't your fault," Karone protested. "Couldn't they see that?"

"No," Andros said, shaking his head. "Even before... they didn't like me."

"Does anyone know?" she asked suddenly. "Did you ever tell anyone, or ask for help?"

Andros shook his head. "I never told anyone, but Zhane knew. The others don't... Ashley a little of it."

"You should tell her," she suggested. "It might make you feel better."

"I know," Andros admitted.

"Go back to the Megaship," Karone said firmly. "I'll be there later."

"Karone-" he started, but she shook her head.

"I know what I'm doing," she said, turning around and walking away from him.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **I thought it was free, I just had to check. If my parents get stuck with a bill for anything, I am so dead. Quite literally, I think... I know, Karone has to stick with Andros. Ooh, what part did you claim? _

_**Juzblue:** I really, really hate them too. Karone has a nice little 'talk' with them, but you get to imagine what happens._

_**Jenny: **Sorry, I lied. There will be a sequel. It start where the next chapter leaves off, though. And Andros will swallow his pride and tell someone. Don't worry, you're still psychic. _: )

_**Arwennicole:** Yeah, I hate his parents, too. They kinda went crazy after Karone disappeared._

_**LucyE:** Of course I'll keep writing. _: )

_**Melissa:** It's okay, I don't remember either. I wrote the response about a week before I updated, so it's okay. _

_**Tori Bradley:** She does, but it's just implied. _

Chapter 21

Andros watched his sister go, a faint smile on his face, before teleporting back to the Megaship. As he landed on the bridge amid a shower of red light, he wasn't at all surprised to see Ashley and Zhane waiting for him. He looked at them both guiltily.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you guys before," he muttered.

Zhane laughed at him. "You've done much worse that you haven't apologized for. So... how'd that go?"

"It could have been worse," Andros said, sighing. He could feel Ashley's eyes on him, and sighed again. Karone was right. He wanted to tell her. He was just afraid to. "Ash, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Ashley said, taking his hand as he started walking. "Where are we going?"

"The observatory?" Andros suggested. "It's quiet there."

"All right," Ashley agreed. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Andros said. "It's complicated."

They entered the observatory still hand-in-hand, and Andros sat down on the floor, his back against the wall. Ashley dropped to the ground beside him, slipping her arm around his shoulder as she did so. For a moment, Andros simply stared at her, unsure of how to begin.

"Karone thinks that I'd feel better if I tell someone," he said finally. "I do too. Ash... would you mind listening?"

"Of course I'll listen," Ashley said immediately, pulling him closer to her.

"You've met my parents," Andros said, laughing bitterly. "You know they hate me. But when I was growing up, it was so much worse than that." He paused, as his old habit of keeping everything inside started to kick back in. The words strangled themselves, and the desire to hide in himself crept over him. He gave Ashley a pleading look, begging her to save him from himself.

"It's all right," Ashley whispered. "You're safe here."

Andros nodded as he was bombarded by memories that he would much rather forget. Memories of his weaker self, the self that begged for mercy already knowing that there would be none but was terrified of pain of any sort.

"They beat you, didn't they?" Ashley asked him gently.

"Yes," he answered dully, feeling himself tense. His shoulders hunched forward as he drew his knees up. His hair wasn't pulled back for once, and it fell in front of his face, making him appear more vulnerable than he ever had before. Ashley touched his shoulder softly, and he reached up, taking her hand, using her as a link to his world as he slowly opened up a different world, one buried long ago. Swallowing hard, he continued, "There was never any warning. They could just explode at any given time, over anything. If I did something wrong, if I did something right, it didn't matter. I was so afraid."

The last sentence nearly drove Ashley to tears, more than anything else that Andros was saying. He was shaking, and when she pulled him into her arms, he wrapped his arms around her, clinging to her.

"Everything was my fault," he whispered. "All the bad, it was all because of me. What they did to me, it was just a punishment for it. And I believed it, too. They convinced me that I was worthless, that no one cared about me, that no one ever would.

"My father always started it. My mother... he had to make her hate me. She never liked me, but she didn't go out of her way to hurt me, either. I always thought that she would stop him, until she started, too." Andros stopped, waiting until he could speak around the lump in his throat. "They vented all their anger out on me. Anything that was heavy enough or hard enough, I was hit with."

He paused, swallowing several times. Looking into Ashley's warm chocolate eyes, it nearly killed him when he saw the sympathy in them. He didn't want _anyone_ feeling sorry for him, Ashley least of all people.

"Don't pity me," he pleaded. "I can't take that, Ash, not from you."

"I'm sorry," Ashley whispered. "I'll try."

"Thank you," he whispered. "Just don't stay here with me because you feel sorry for me."

"I'm here because I want to be," Ashley said firmly. "Do you believe me?"

Andros nodded his head slowly, giving her a small smile. "I believe you, Ash."

For several minutes, they sat in silence, as Andros debated whether or not to keep talking. Karone was right, he felt better, as much as it hurt. "Did I depress you too much yet, or will you still listen?"

"I'll listen for as long as you keep talking," Ashley assured him. Andros took a deep breath and kept talking.

"One thing was always the same," he said. "Everyday, after school, they locked me in my room. It was like a prison. There weren't any windows, and it was so small. There wasn't even a bed. I slept on the floor. If they were really angry with me, they would leave me in there for days. They wouldn't let me out to eat or to use the bathroom. I actually think that they managed to forget about me."

With his last sentence, the monotone he'd been speaking in slipped, and his voice started breaking. Biting his lip hard, he waited for several minutes, concentrating on breathing evenly.

"When I morphed for the first time, it just... stopped. There weren't anymore beatings. For awhile, I thought that it was all over. Then they started screaming instead. Being screamed at was worse than being hit. I could block out the pain, but not the voices. I heard them all the time. I couldn't even sleep without hearing them. When KO-35 was abandoned, it was almost like a miracle..." He stopped again, completely drained. "I can't talk anymore."

"It's all right," Ashley whispered in his ear, her arms wrapped around him. "Will you be okay?"

Andros nodded, and stood up. Ashley stood as well, and he held her for several minutes, his eyes closed. "I love you so much," he whispered.

"I love you too," Ashley whispered back.

"Ash," Andros said seriously, pulling back. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"No," Ashley promised him. "Did you ever tell anyone?"

He shook his head. "The only thing worse than no one knowing was everyone knowing."

"Are you still ashamed of it?" Ashley asked softly.

"Yes," he whispered. "I always will be."

"You don't have to be," Ashley said softly, brushing his hair out of his face with one hand as she looked up into his sad eyes.

"I will be," Andros said. "But I can live with it now."

Ashley took his hand, and tugged on his arm gently. "Come on," she said. "Let's go see what the others have been up to, all right?"

Andros nodded, and walked out of the observatory feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. As they stepped off of the Megalift and onto the bridge, Andros saw Karone waiting for him.

"How are you?" she asked him.

"I'm okay," he replied truthfully. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Karone said lightly, smiling vindictively. "I just came from a nice, long talk with my parents."

Andros looked from Karone to Ashley, not quite sure what he should be thinking. In the end, he laughed, but only because it was easier to laugh than cry.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Not mine

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Like I said, I was goinig to have Karone 'play' with matches... :P_

_**Juzblue:** I know, Karone does some interesting things when she's angry. _: )

_**Jenny:** I updated and then I went and read ch. 9 of "Andros' Life," and it was pretty funny because I think that part there was exactly the same, but all A/A authors have a psychic connection, remember? And yes, there is a sequel, and I'll put it up tomorrow. And how did you manage to work in that you know what AH/AS wrote next? It's one thing when it's her stories, but when it's mine... that's talent. TEACH ME! And stop staring at me like I'm crazy:P_... _Um, I probably always had AIM, I just didn't know it was AIM. _: )_ starcloud248? Now I know what screenname to block. Kidding:P And yeah, I love the chapter you gave me. It's one of the best Andros/Ashley moments (that was in the show, at least.) :D_

_**Princess Emmie:** Thanks. Karone had to stand up to them, I couldn't let Andros be abandoned by his sister on top of everything else that happened to him. _

_**Arwennicole:** His parents are awful people. Karone basically showed them that she wasn't the little angel they thought she was. _

_**AA Lover:** All Andros and Ashley stories have to have something sad in them, but then it's sweet at the same time, because then Andros gets to open up to Ashley, and that's the best part. _: )

Chapter 22

"I never thought we'd have to say goodbye," Ashley whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks as she walked with Andros. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

Andros sighed, and turned to face her, wiping her tears away and taking her hands. "KO-35 is my home," he said softly. "The people here need me. I owe it to them to stay."

Ashley started crying again, not understanding at all. His life here had been horrible. Why was he staying? She swallowed hard, trying to keep herself from falling apart completely. A part of her did understand. He still wanted to make up for the mistakes he thought he'd made. Without another word, Andros pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Ashley buried her face in his chest, no longer making any effort to dam her tears.

When their communicators beeped, Andros answered his, knowing that Ashley wasn't able to speak. "It's time," TJ's voice floated quietly up to them. "We'll be right there," Andros said, breaking the connection. He tightened his grip on Ashley. "Come on, Ash. You have to go now."

Slowly, reluctantly, they began walking in the direction of the Megaship, Ashley fighting back the urge to throw herself at him, begging him to let her stay, Andros fighting back the urge to beg her to stay.

As they finished their goodbyes, Ashley cast him one last sad glance as the hit the button that would seal the door. Andros didn't take his eyes off of her until he could no longer see her. The instant she was gone, he knew that the mistake he was making now was much bigger than anything he thought he'd done before.

"Zhane," he said, turning to his best friend, who was standing beside him, alongside his sister. The three native Karovans had decided to remain together, no matter where it took them. "Karone. I can't."

Zhane and Karone looked at each other as Andros teleported himself back onto the Megaship without another word. Zhane muttered something along the lines of, "Took you long enough," before following, Karone right behind him.

Andros landed just outside the bridge, where he could see TJ and Carlos standing around awkwardly as Cassie tried to comfort Ashley. "Are you going to be okay?" Cassie asked.

"I just miss him so much," Ashley choked out.

"Deca, set a course for Earth," Andros said, stepping into the room.

"Andros!" Ashley shouted, jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck.

"My home is with you," he said in her ear.

"Hey," Zhane said, poking his head in the room. "The Mega Winger's in the shop. Can we get a ride to Earth?"

"We'll have to think about that one," TJ said, grinning.

"Not nice," Karone laughed, appearing next to Zhane. "We'd be stuck here forever."

"Let's go home," Carlos suggested.

"I like it," Cassie agreed.

Still caught in Andros' arms, Ashley relaxed against him and joined the other rangers in joking around, eager to get home and begin her new life with the man that she loved.

**Elsewhere**

"We must move now, Master." The speaker felt his heart pound as he finished, and waited with bated breath for a reply.

On the telescreen, the former Power Rangers were laughing, their guards let down completely, their morphers gone. They were now defenseless, and could be overpowered easily.

"Yes," came the breathless reply. "We must move now." He laughed, a sound that echoed eerily throughout the compound. "The rangers have won their war, but the red ranger will never escape me."

_A/N: Okay, Part I is over. Onto Part II. I should really decide these things BEFORE I right the story, not the chapter before the last chapter. But you still love me. :P Hoped you liked it. Please review. _


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